APPEAL COURT INCREASES POT-FARM LABOURER'S SENTENCE

A Chinese immigrant from Toronto who was duped into working on one of
Manitoba's largest-ever marijuana grow operations has been hit with a
stiffer sentence by the province's highest court.

Fai Tan Ng was originally given a one-month penalty after pleading
guilty to production of marijuana.

The Manitoba Court of Appeal has now agreed with the Crown's argument
the penalty is too light and increased it to a full year.

However, Ng "poses no danger to the community" and will be allowed to
serve his sentence in the community, the court ruled.

The arrest of Ng and 27 other accused in 2004 made national headlines
and drew a large volume of support for their plight. They were found
stacked like sardines inside a tiny home on a sprawling property near
Sundown, Man., which housed a multimillion-dollar pot facility.

The accused had all been lured from Ontario to the Prairies with the
promise of quick cash in exchange for some "farm labour".

In Ng's case, he had recently lost his job as a cook, had limited
ability to speak English and was struggling to support his family.

He was told by a friend of a job that could pay upwards of $500 per
day and was eventually put on a bus and driven to Manitoba. It was
only upon arrival that Ng and the others realized they weren't going
to be dealing with grain or dairy farming.

"Although he realized what was being asked of him, he opted not to
leave the farm as he did not have any transportation with which to do
so and he really had no inkling as to where he was," wrote Justice
Michael Monnin.

Police raided the property just a few weeks after his arrival and
seized more than 11,000 mature marijuana plants from four huge
greenhouses.

Ng was the second of the 28 accused to resolve his case and pleaded
guilty.

The other received time in custody of 18 months because he had been in
Canada illegally. He has been deported.