Prof. Vincent CHENG, Assistant Professor of APSS, has recently published a new book titled: Wasted Lives: The Social Exclusion of Older Triads Who Use Drugs in the Hong Kong Illegal Employment Market.
Crime movies often draw audiences into the stories of heroes and villains. Rarely do audiences show interest in the minions – often nameless figures who are brutally taken down by the protagonist. Similarly, in real life, public fascination with the illegal world tends to centre on notorious figures – serial killers, famous criminals, and mafia or triad bosses. However, little attention is paid to those at the bottom of the criminal social hierarchy.
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews, this book tells the stories of and gives voices to a specific group at the margins of the criminal world in Hong Kong: older people who use drugs, focusing on their lived experiences of social exclusion within the criminal arena. By integrating literature on social exclusion, substance abuse, and organised crime, the book sheds light on broader societal issues surrounding marginalisation, aging, and criminal justice.
