Chinese trio avoid jail after attempt to smuggle husband and boyfriend
Three Chinese nationals have dodged an immediate jail term for their role in a failed people smuggling venture at a remote air base in Western Australia's far north.
Shyuan Hong, 56, and her 34-year-old daughter Zhongfang Zhang were sentenced at Sydney's Downing Centre Court on Tuesday morning, along with another man, Shuai Sun.
The trio were charged over their role in the arrival of the boatload of Chinese men in April 2024 near Mungalau Truscott Airbase, 500km north-west of Kununurra.
Australian Border Force (ABF) detected and apprehended the group, but several individuals walked directly into the air base without being intercepted.
The men arrived at the Mungalalu Truscott Airbase in the middle of surveillance programs designed to intercept foreign boats. (Supplied)
Hong, Zhang and Sun 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 the trio set off from Sydney on March 30 in a hire car and drove 5,000 kilometres to the Kimberley.
During the journey, Zhang left the group and returned to Sydney.
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".
Australian Border Force monitor the northern Kimberley coast for illegal boat arrivals. (Supplied)
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."
Judge Williams said the trio discovered the husband and boyfriend had since been detained by Border Force, along with the other Chinese nationals on board the boat.
An Indonesian fishing boat motors close to the north Kimberley coast in November 2023. (Supplied: Matthew Fieldes)
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".
Hong and Sun left Broome to return to Sydney, but were intercepted by Australian Federal Police near Wagga Wagga, who searched their vehicle and seized electronic devices and other information about the trip.
The Kimberley coastline where the Chinese nationals arrived is remote. (ABC News: Erin Parke)
The trio, all Chinese citizens living in New South Wales under various visa conditions, were interviewed by police.
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.
Kalumburu is Western Australia's northernmost community and the closest settlement to where the men arrived. (ABC News: Emily Jane Smith)
The maximum jail penalty for the offence is 10 years' imprisonment or a fine.
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