New delay as DVD faker fights to stay in UK

Jun 10 2009 by Our Correspondent, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

A SELLER of counterfeit DVDs is still to be sentenced two years after his offence... because his immigration status remains shrouded in uncertainty.

Wen Gou made the latest in a series of appearances at Airdrie Sheriff Court last Wednesday but the case was once again continued as lawyers attempt to establish the progress of the Chinese citizen’s asylum application.

The 41-year-old fraudster – who apparently speaks no English and had a translator alongside him in the dock – has previously been warned by Sheriff Robert Dickson that he faces deportation.

Deferring sentence once again until July 1, the sheriff said: “If he isn’t meant to be in this country then we’ll have to take steps to deal with it; if he is, then we can take a different view.”

Wen, who is formerly of Coatbridge and now lives at St George’s Road in Glasgow, has pleaded guilty to selling the fake Columbia Pictures, Dreamworks and Metro Goldwyn Mayer DVDs at Sikeside Street on May 25, 2007.

His solicitor Luke O’Curry told last Wednesday’s hearing: “We wrote to his asylum solicitors the day after his last appearance but have had no response.

“Mr Wen is saying today that he has been in contact with the Home Office and has continued to co-operate with the asylum application.

“It’s somewhat difficult assessing the state of its progress – Mr Wen says he’s pursuing it with all vigour and co-operating fully with them, but there’s no clear date available when any decision may be made.”

Clearly exasperated with the long-drawn-out and costly affair, Sheriff Dickson said: “We have no independent source so we don’t know what has been done and what progress made with this application.

“For a long time his solicitor thought he was doing it, but then it became clear he didn’t understand what was involved and that’s why it’s gone on as long as it has.

“If his solicitors haven’t replied, it’s no help to us – I’ll continue it for a short time and it must be indicated to them that we need to know if they are working on it and what’s the position, as this has now been going on for more than a year.”