THE Government is fighting to put three Vietnamese families back into detention camps following their release after a judge ruled their detention was illegal.
Ly Hue My, 28, Tan Le Lam, 43, and Phung Hoan, 59, won their freedom in a landmark case in January after claiming Vietnam would not take them back.
The boat people, ethnic Chinese, had spent most or all their lives in Vietnam before fleeing to Hong Kong in the late 1980s.
But they claimed Vietnam still considered them foreign residents because of their Taiwanese travel documents, and would not take them back.
Mr Justice Keith accepted evidence from the Vietnamese vice-consul in Hong Kong that no foreign nationals would be accepted for repatriation. He agreed their detention was unlawful after hearing they had no real prospect of being moved elsewhere in the near future.
But yesterday the Government launched an appeal against the judge's decision to release the three, their spouses and children.
Bill Marshall QC said the High Court ruling was premature because attempts were still being made to repatriate the families.