Chinese Nationals Receive Suspended Sentences for Failed People Smuggling Attempt

Three Chinese nationals have received suspended jail sentences for their roles in a failed people smuggling attempt near a remote air base in Western Australia's far north.

Shyuan Hong, 56, and her 34-year-old daughter Zhongfang Zhang, along with another man, Shuai Sun, were sentenced at a Sydney court on Tuesday morning. They were charged over their involvement in the arrival of a boatload of Chinese men near Mungalau Truscott Airbase, 500km north-west of Kununurra, in April 2024.

The trio were each given a three-year suspended jail sentence, subject to good behaviour and compliance with court orders. The court heard Hong's husband and Zhang's boyfriend had previously applied for tourist visas to visit Australia, but their applications were rejected.

During sentencing, District Court Judge Mark Williams outlined how the trio attempted to organise the transport and arrival of Hong's husband and Zhang's boyfriend into Australia, undetected. The court heard they set off from Sydney on March 30 in a hire car and drove 5,000 kilometres to the Kimberley.

Judge Williams said Hong and Sun had "attempted to arrive" at Truscott Airbase by April 5 to "meet an Indonesian fishing boat [carrying the husband and boyfriend] scheduled to arrive that day". However, due to flooding, the pair were unable to get to the area and remained in Broome, around 615km south-west.

The following day, Hong and Sun hired e-bikes and were stopped by WA Police, telling the officers they were on a "road trip." The court heard the trio discovered the husband and boyfriend had since been detained by Border Force, along with the other Chinese nationals on board the boat.

In one translated message read to the court, sent from social media platform WeChat, Zhang messaged Sun, "we are screwed … news just got released … the airport is a bordered defence area".

While labelling unlawful entry into Australia a "scourge" on society, Judge Williams said the trio did not have previous criminal convictions. Judge Williams said Hong felt an obligation to assist her husband, while her daughter showed remorse and accepted responsibility.

The court heard Sun's motive as the driver of the car was financial. The maximum jail penalty for the offence is 10 years' imprisonment or a fine.