"It was a huge mistake": Couple in court over what they were selling at a Sunday morning car boot sale

A couple who were found selling a collection of martial arts weapons and knives at a Sunday morning car boot sale have avoided jail time after claiming they were unaware that their highly dangerous stock was illegal in the UK. Xing Yu, 29, and Bilian Weng, 28, both restaurant workers, shocked other traders unloading trinkets and clothing from their vehicles at 6am by displaying 12 lock knives, five nunchucks and batons on their stall.

When questioned, the pair, who are from China but have resided in Britain for over a decade, stated they did not realise they were breaking the law, as such items are regularly sold in markets in their native country. They further claimed they had bought the items from another stall at Winnick car boot sale in Warrington, Cheshire and decided to sell them on for a profit.

During a search of their home, police found a telescopic baton. At Warrington magistrates court, Yu and Weng, from Openshaw, Manchester, admitted to charges of possessing offensive weapons and bladed articles in a public place, as well as possession of an offensive weapon in a private place and possession of a weapon for the purpose of sale or hire.

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The incident took place on August 4 this year, during one of the couple's regular visits to a car boot sale. This event is reputed to be one of the largest of its kind in the North West, with hundreds of sellers attending each week.

Prosecutor Mr Kassem Noureddine explained: "Essentially this is a husband and wife who go to a car boot sale as they do every Sunday to sell several items, some of which are included in the charges - the most serious of them is the possession of knives in a public place. Both defendants are of previous good character."

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A probation officer who interviewed Yu said: "He has lived in the UK for ten years after he left school in China and came to the UK to better his life.

"He met his wife in 2019 and they married two years ago. He tells me prior to this incident a week before he attended the same car boot sale and he purchased the knives and the nunchucks at the car boot sale.

"He took them home and the following week returned with the intention to sell the knives and nunchucks for a small profit. He bought the nunchucks for £5 and was going to sell them for £8 to £10. In his mind he did not think that he was breaking the law at the time. " "It seems in China that at car boot sales, in fact all that kind of market in China do sell these kind of things on a regular basis.

"China is very different to England and I think it has been a massive wake up call."

The probation officer stated that he discussed topics such as knife crime, fatal attacks, and gangs with Yu during the interview to help him grasp the severity of the issues, adding: "He has been extremely foolish trying to sell knives and weapons to effectively people he would not know. The consequences could have been fatal. He has presented as very honest in interview, law abiding.

"It was a huge mistake and I do not believe that you will see him again. 'If he went to prison it would have a big impact on his wife who I understand has health problems and is reliant on the defendant to support her.

"The incident appears to be very much isolated. It was extremely naïve and foolish and one that he will no doubt learn his lesson from."

A second probation worker who spoke to Weng said: "Her parents moved to the UK and she followed her parents when she was about 14 or 15. She believes that the purchase of those items was at a car boot sale the week before and she thought it was ok to sell them on.

"They have attended other car boot sales as well to try and make a profit. She accepts that she was quite naïve about the offences in this country regarding those type of items. She has no intention of selling anything like this again in future."

Defence lawyer Gary Scholar stated: “They have committed these offences in a state of naivety and ignorance. They certainly did not believe that they were breaking the law in any way. Now they know the legal position, they will never act in this way again and I don't believe that it's necessary to imprison either defendant.''

Both faced up to 12 months in prison under sentencing guidelines but were given four months in prison, suspended for 12 months. They were also ordered to pay £239 in costs and victim surcharge and the knives and weapons were ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.

In sentencing the couple who spoke with the aid of a Mandarin interpreter, JP Iain Deas said: "These are serious offences however, we are prepared to accept that you have both made a one-off mistake here which is very unlikely to be repeated.

“We do not believe that you deserve to be sent to prison today. We have taken into account your good character and your lack of any previous convictions. You are at low risk of reoffending.''