A Hong Kong court dismissed a gun charge Monday against a Washington state senator who had been arrested after he carried a gun into the Chinese territory in what he called an “honest mistake.”
Republican Jeff Wilson self-declared that he was carrying the gun at the airport Oct. 21, has a clear criminal record in Hong Kong and made his admission in an open manner, the prosecution said at the court hearing.
Principal Magistrate Don So approved the arrangement for a bind-over order rather than a plea to possessing an unlicensed firearm, saying he was inclined to believe Wilson was innocent.
The bind-over order requires Wilson to keep the peace and avoid committing further firearms offenses for two years. The magistrate said Wilson would be fined 2,000 Hong Kong dollars ($255) for breaching the order if he doesn’t comply.
You make the same “honest mistake” and you get locked up for five to ten.
Honestly I find him incredibly lucky because recently Ive seen US diplomats trying to actually have talks with China and under a different administration (cough cough this guys own party) this guy could become a bargining chip or PR example of US disrespect. HK could have made this a lot harder for him.
Makes a person wonder what deal was struck behind the scenes to make this go quietly away.