Hong Kong asks mainland China to help stem increase in illegal arrivals; steps up land and sea patrols
- Post-pandemic relaxations of travel restrictions on South Asian countries by mainland may have fuelled increase in attempts to enter city, sources say
- More than 100 people from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan arrested between October 22 and 31 on suspicion of illegal entry to city
Sources said the people taken into custody could have taken advantage of relaxed travel restrictions by mainland authorities for visitors from South Asian countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The insiders added the easier visa system allowed people to travel to the mainland before they were taken to coastal areas in Guangdong, where “snakeheads” smuggled them to Hong Kong by speedboat.
More than 100 people from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan were arrested in seven incidents between October 22 and October 31.
There were 848 illegal immigrants intercepted in the first nine months of the year, including from top-of-the-list Vietnam with 266, 244 from the mainland, 183 from Bangladesh, and 112 from Pakistan.
“Intelligence suggests each individual was typically charged a five-figure amount of money for this air-land-sea journey,” one source said.
A group of Bangladeshi men arrested in a recent operation said they had paid more than HK$55,000 (US$7,029) each for their voyage from their homeland to Hong Kong.
The source said they were lured to the city with promises of illegal employment, but some were abandoned on outlying islands near the maritime boundary because of snakeheads’ fear of going further into Hong Kong waters and risking arrest.
He added the relaxation of travel restrictions to the mainland for people from South Asian countries could be one factor behind the recent surge in arrests for illegal entry to the city.
“They usually claimed that life was not good in their hometowns, prompting their escape to Hong Kong,” the insider said.
When illegal immigrants from South Asia are detected, they normally file non-refoulement claims – Hong Kong’s de facto asylum seeker status – so they can continue to stay in the city as related authorities vet their applications, according to the source. “Some of them may seek illegal employment,” he added.
People are issued with a recognisance form, a temporary identification document that allows holders to stay in the city, but not to work, while their applications are being assessed by the Immigration Department.
13 suspected illegal immigrants stranded on outlying Hong Kong island rescued
“Officers from rural patrol units have also stepped up patrol in country parks and are scouring dense bushes for potential hiding spots used by illegal immigrants,” another source said.
Marine police mounted an operation, code-named Flowingshade, in southern and western waters early on Saturday. At around 4am, they intercepted a speedboat about 3km off Fan Lau, on the southwestern tip of Lantau Island, and arrested two suspected snakeheads on board. The pair were mainland men, aged 22 and 43.
In a follow-up search on shore, officers found 11 illegal immigrants from South Asia hiding in dense bushes near a lighthouse at Fan Lau at about 6am.
The 11 men – seven Bangladeshis, three Pakistanis and an Indian – were arrested on suspicion of illegal entry to the city.
A source said a preliminary investigation showed the two mainland men were paid to transport the 11 from Zhongshan in Guangdong province to Hong Kong by speedboat.
The Post has also learned that the city has also sought help from mainland authorities to help cut off the flow of illegal entrants, but sources declined to to discuss what measures might be taken by officials across the border.
On Tuesday 13 men from Bangladesh were found stranded on Shek Kwu Chau island in the city’s southwestern waters.
Preliminary inquiries suggested the men flew from Bangladesh to Kunming city in Yunnan province on October 25 and took a train to Guangzhou, another source said.
The source added the group was then driven to the coast on Monday night and smuggled across the border in a speedboat.
“A preliminary investigation suggested each member of the group had paid around HK$56,000 to a middleman for their illegal journey from Bangladesh to Hong Kong,” he said.
Police were called to the fishing village of Tai O on Lantau Island at about 10.15am on the same day after a 47-year-old hiker found a group of six to seven people suspected to have entered the city illegally.
Officers arrested a Pakistani man at Nam Chung Tsuen about an hour later.
Police detained 28 men – 18 from Bangladesh, seven from India and three from Pakistan – after they were abandoned on Po Toi Island last Saturday.
19 Pakistanis arrested over illegal entry to Hong Kong, some in island rescue
The force also arrested 28 Bangladeshi nationals on Waglan Island the day before who were also alleged to have come to Hong Kong illegally.
Police rounded up 15 men from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan when they were found at High Island Reservoir in Sai Kung on October 25.
Police arrested 10 Pakistani men and a mainlander two days earlier after their boat was intercepted at Deep Bay in the northwestern waters of the city.
Another nine Pakistani nationals were also picked up on October 22 after they were found stranded on a deserted island – Shue Long Chau – in Sai Kung.
The Immigration Department received 1,149 non-refoulement claims in the first nine months of the year.
Among the 368 outstanding non-refoulement claims at the end of September, 132 were from Indonesia, 69 from Bangladesh, 66 from Vietnam, 24 from Pakistan and 23 from India.
There have been 320 substantiated claims since late 2009, with 43 from Pakistan, 43 from Yemen, 25 from Rwanda, 17 from Bangladesh and 12 from Indonesia.
Beijing restarted the issuing of almost all types of visas for foreigners on March 15 after it eased strict coronavirus restrictions.
Chinese embassies in some South Asian countries said they had stepped up to facilitate visa applications, including the launch of an online processing system launched in June.
Additional reporting by Sylvia Ma
