Police assailed for strip search of children
www.globeandmail.com News Books Careers Mutual Funds Stocks ROB Magazine Technology
Home  |  Business  |  National  |  International  |  Sports  |  Features  |  Arts  |  Forums  |  Subscribe

The Globe and Mail
Wednesday, August 25
leaf stats

Search

Tips & Other Options
Contents
bulletReport on Business
bulletNational
bulletInternational
bulletSports
bulletFeatures
bulletArts & Leisure
bulletCommentary
bulletFocus & Books
bulletClassifieds
bulletBirths & Deaths
bulletTravel
bulletHealth
bulletScience
bulletTechnology

NorstarMall.ca

Yellow.ca

News Index
bulletArts & Leisure
 Art
 Books
 Broadcast Week
 Fashion & Design
 Film
 Music
 Television
 Theatre
 TV Listings

bulletBirths & Deaths
bulletClassifieds
 Automotive
 Business Marketplace
 National personals
 Online personals
 Place an Ad
 Real estate rentals
 Real estate sales
 Services & Merchandise

bulletCommentary
 Columns
 Editorials
 Editorial Cartoon
 Letters to the Editor
 Send a letter to the Editor

bulletFeatures
 Amazing Facts
 Century of the Millennium
 Essay
 Fifth Column
 Life Story
 Lives Lived
 Millennium 100
 Social Studies
 Wax and Wane

bulletFocus & Books
 Book news
 Book reviews

bulletHealth
bulletInternational
 Columns
 The Globe Abroad

bulletNational
 Columns
 Issues Forum
 Report

bulletReport on Business
   - Staff Biographies
 Annual Reports
 Enterprise
 Managing
 Money & Markets
 ROB Top 1000
 Smart Numbers
 Special Reports
 1999 Federal Budget

bulletScience
bulletSports
   - Staff Biographies
 Basketball
 Baseball
 Football
 Golf
 Hockey
 Other Sports

bulletTechnology
bulletTravel
Magazines
ROBmagazine.com
Special Interest
Millennium Series
IT Management

Services Index
bulletA Globe History
bulletAbout globeandmail.com
bulletAdvertise
 Newspaper
 Web sites

bulletCustomer Service
 Change of Address
 General Inquiry
 Office information
 Subscribe to the paper
 Subscribe: International
 Subscribe: Gift
 Subscribe: Renewal
 Vacation Suspension

bulletHelp & Contact Us
bulletLink To Us
bulletMake Us Home
bulletNewspaper Assoc.
bulletPrivacy Policy
bulletReprints
 Information
 Order form

bulletStory Search
bulletWeekday Lineup
bulletWhat's New
 
Police assailed for strip search of children
Young boat people mistreated, lawyer says

KIM LUNMAN
British Columbia Bureau
Wednesday, August 25, 1999

Victoria -- Police have conducted strip searches on dozens of children who arrived on a smugglers' ship from China two weeks ago and five of the children, including an eight-year-old girl, have been separated from their mothers.

A lawyer for the Chinese migrants said several girls, as young as 12, were strip-searched by female police constables last weekend after talking to lawyers in trailers at the detention site.

"I was shocked and appalled," said Marlene Tyshynski, who said she was told by the RCMP that the teenagers were strip-searched for security reasons because of concerns that they might have concealed items, such as weapons, during interviews in the lawyers' makeshift offices.

She said the police later changed the procedure to frisking the teens, who were released Monday and transferred into the care of the Ministry of Children and Families pending their refugee claims.

RCMP Constable Tracey Rook confirmed that strip searches were conducted last weekend.
She said yesterday that most of the migrants -- including dozens of minors -- detained at the navy base were strip-searched after police found rocks in their bedding.

"There had been a number of incidents," she said. "They were bringing rocks in the building." She said others used "defiant hand signals" to police officers at the base.

"It was a safety and security concern," she said, adding the searches required the removal of clothes but no body-cavity searches.

Lawyers for the youths aboard the smugglers' ship, the second to arrive in B.C. from China's Fujian province in a month, have been critical of the tight security involving the children. They were handcuffed during immigration hearings last week.

A total of 39 youngsters, aged 11 to 17, who had travelled alone from Fujian are living with social workers under the province's care. They were transferred to a vacated wing in a provincial seniors' residence in Burnaby.

Five other children who made the 60-day voyage to Canada with their mothers were taken into foster care as the four women were transferred to a Vancouver jail. The ship's youngest passenger, an eight-year-old girl, was distraught when told she would be separated from her mother.

"Her eyes were just filling with tears and she was shaking her head," Ms. Tyshynski said. "She was silent. It was horrible."

Immigration officials confirmed yesterday the four women who have been separated from their children have been detained for another week while authorities determine their identities.

"It's absolutely absurd," said Rory Morahan, a Victoria lawyer who represented three of the women at immigration hearings.

"Mothers aren't going to be able to go on the run," he said. "They've got to feed their children."

Canada Immigration spokeswoman Lorna Tessier said it is normal procedure for authorities to place children of adults detained under the Immigration Act into the care of provincial child-welfare authorities.

"This was something all the accompanying relatives agreed too," she said. "Nothing was forced."

The children were among 131 passengers aboard the smugglers' ship seized by the RCMP in British Columbia waters two weeks ago. They were rescued by Canadian authorities after the ship's crew dumped them on a remote beach in the Queen Charlotte Islands.

All but 57 of the passengers have been deemed eligible to claim refugee status. The 57 have been ordered deported but lawyers are appealing those decisions.

The ship's crew, nine men believed to be South Korean, are to appear in a Victoria court tomorrow on charges of causing a person to disembark at sea. The Immigration Act charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and a $500,000 fine. Police believe the smugglers have ties to organized crime.



More National News
Police assailed for strip search of children
Young boat people mistreated, lawyer says
by Kim Lunman - Wednesday, August 25, 1999

Bill would outlaw destruction of endangered species' habitat
New Environment Minister outlines plan to cabinet
by Anne McIlroy - Wednesday, August 25, 1999

Critics renew call to hear from PM at APEC inquiry
Chrétien's former right-hand man continues to deny involvement in security for summit
by Ann Gibbon - Wednesday, August 25, 1999

Alberta judge rejects 'ill-founded' Crown bid to have Ludwig returned to jail
by Jill Mahoney - Wednesday, August 25, 1999

Reserves beyond reach of workfare, judge rules
Ontario bands pleased, but province may appeal
by Richard Mackie - Wednesday, August 25, 1999


Search
Search up to one week back for the selected parts of The Globe and Mail that we have online. See tips & other options for help.


 
Noteworthy
Click here for the Editorial Cartoon

Special Series Archive
Archived features from The Globe and Mail.

What's New
The latest additions to globeandmail.com.

Writers
Gagnon

Lysiane Gagnon
· Inside Quebec


Simpson

Jeffrey Simpson
· Articles


Sullivan

Paul Sullivan
· The West



Forums
Eaton's Selloff!
Share your memories of Eaton's.

Sprinter Surin
Has Surin stepped out of Johnson's and Bailey's shadow?

Tory Glory
The Tories are gaining popularity. Has your opinion changed?

Books
Is a language less beautiful because it borrows effusively as English does from other languages? Should languages concern themselves with aesthetics or only with practicality? Howard Richler, author of A Bawdy Language leads the discussion. Share your thoughts here.

Careers
"I believe that the IT skills shortage is being hyped by private and public training institutions who want to cash in on the demand for training." Do you agree?

Mutual Funds
Many mutual fund companies offer a large variety of funds from which to choose. How do you take advantage of this variety to maximize growth at different times of the year? Share your thoughts in the globefund.com discussion forums.

Technology
"I don't think many people realize how insecure Web banking is. Would you use ATMs if all you had to do was put in a password and no card was required?" Big Bank Bust, in our forums.

ChaptersGLOBE.com
Related Books
· Canadian Biographies
· Canadian Drama Books · Canadian History
· Canadian Politics & Government
· Canadian Travel Books

Help & Contact Us
Back to the top of this page
Copyright © 1999 Globe Information Services