LAWYER GETS FOUR YEARS FOR TAKING DRUGS INTO JAIL

TORONTO - A lawyer continued to maintain his innocence even as he was
sentenced yesterday to four years in prison for attempting to smuggle
nearly $30,000 worth of drugs into an Ontario maximum-security jail.

"I did not do this," said Raymond Li, 37, of Toronto, during a
sentencing hearing in Ontario Superior Court. "I need to say that for
my own sake. I know the court does not accept that."

Mr. Li is believed to be the first lawyer ever convicted of
trafficking drugs into a jail in Canada.

Justice Frank Caputo described the unusual proceeding as a "sad and
difficult case" and suggested Mr. Li used his position as a lawyer to
"facilitate" the offence.

The lawyer was arrested in November 2001 after a guard at the Don Jail
observed Mr. Li handing something to an inmate under a table in an
interview room. The inmate was searched and hashish, marijuana and 29
grams of heroin were found embedded inside a package of loose tobacco.

Mr. Li, a criminal and family lawyer who has practised for 10 years,
represented himself during his trial last fall. The lawyer testified
that he put his hand under the table to show his client where a gun
had been found under a car seat in a police investigation. He also
suggested that someone else had provided the inmate with the drugs.

The explanations were rejected by the judge and described as
"far-fetched."

After his conviction last December, Mr. Li asked for a mistrial, in
part because of his failure to represent himself adequately. He also
asked Judge Caputo to remove himself from the case because a
disgruntled former client had sent a letter complaining about Mr. Li.
Judge Caputo said he immediately stopped reading the letter once he
saw that Mr. Li's name was mentioned and refused to declare a mistrial.

The Crown had asked for a sentence of five to seven years in
prison.

A number of letters, including some from legal colleagues, were
submitted in support of Mr. Li, who hired a lawyer for his sentencing
hearing. John Mann asked for a sentence of no more than three years in
prison. Mr. Li is likely to be subject to a disciplinary proceeding
and may be disbarred.

He was taken into custody yesterday but may be released within a few
days, pending his appeal.