I was a teenage Triad and heroin addict.. now I'm a life coach to Barlinnie cons

Hong Kong prison hell led to expat Scot's life mission

- JOHN DINGWALL

AN AUSTISTIC Scot who became a teenage Triad member is to reveal the incredible story of how he escaped his life of crime and became a life coach for Scottish prisoners.

Stewart Burton, 51, was brought up in the posh Glasgow suburb of Newton Mearns until he emigrated to Hong Kong with his family.

But shortly after being accepted into a fee-paying school, he was introduced to heroin and became homeless at 17.

Stewart said: "My parents went on holiday and left me with a lot of money so I filled the bathtub with beer and had a party.

"A girl gave me heroin and that was it. The next day we went looking for more and I became addicted to heroin.

"I was 16 going on 17 when my parents came home. One night my dad went after my mother and I stood up to him to protect my mum. The next day he kicked me out. I ended up homeless on the streets of Hong Kong."

Stewart was enlisted by a Triad leader and became a Blue Lantern - uninitiated members of the notorious organised crime gang. He became an armed robber but was shocked by the violence he witnessed.

Stewart said: "I had met a guy who I was told was a Triad leader and not to trust him but he got me heroin and I began hanging out with him.

"We went to a café and he took out a baton and beat up the manager with no words said.

"A couple of weeks later he pulled out a chopper and took all the money from a taxi driver. It built from there.