Wednesday, August 04

Kim Lunman
British Columbia Bureau
Wednesday, August 4, 1999

Victoria -- Thirty-four of the 123 illegal Chinese immigrants plucked from a listing ship off the coast of Vancouver Island two weeks ago were being held in a Vancouver jail last night. Police are recommending some be charged with human smuggling under the Immigration Act, an offence carrying a penalty of up to 10 years in jail.

As the 34 await their fate, immigration officials yesterday released 81 of their shipmates.

Eight of them promptly appeared at a refugee settlement agency in Victoria where they filled out welfare forms and were given clothes.

As refugee claimants, they are each entitled to about $500 monthly in welfare for hardship allowance and lawyers paid for by legal aid.

They can apply for work permits and are also eligible for federal health benefits.

The claimants are being released on the condition they report their new addresses to immigration authorities in Vancouver or Victoria between two to four days after their release.

They must also report in person to immigration offices in Vancouver on Aug. 24 or Aug. 25. Their refugee claim cases are being fast-tracked and will be heard individually in September.

Warrants for their arrests will be issued if they fail to report, said Jim Redmond, an Immigration Canada manager for Vancouver Island.
"They're basically on their own," he said. "We will not, and will not expect other agencies to, babysit them."

Fifteen immigrants -- 10 men and five women -- were sent to a remand centre in Vancouver yesterday to join 19 already there as RCMP forwarded a report to the Crown's office. Another eight males, aged 14 to 17, who were aboard the ship remain in the custody of provincial child-welfare authorities.

The 123 immigrants spent 39 days at sea in a squalid ship before being intercepted by the Canadian Coast Guard off the coast of Vancouver Island near Gold River.

The immigrants, from Fujian province of China, paid or promised up to $60,000 for a voyage to North America.

The investigation into the voyage is still continuing and it is not known how soon charges will be laid, Constable Tracey Rook said.

"At this time, I cannot speculate on how many of the individuals [in custody] will be charged." She said organized crime is suspected to play a role, but refused to further elaborate.

Police are recommending a charge under the Immigration Act for human smuggling, which carries a maximum penalty of a $500,000 fine and 10 years in jail, Constable Rook said.

Immigration Canada agreed to release the other claimants at detention hearings yesterday at the Esquimalt navy base.

The 123 immigrants had been under 24-hour police watch at a gymnasium on the military base since arriving in Canada two weeks. None had any identification.

Immigration officials agreed to release 81 claimants after they were satisfied the immigrants were not suspected of criminal involvement in the smuggling operation and could prove their identities.

They have requested copies of marriage certificates, family registration numbers and identification cards be sent to the Canadian embassy in Beijing after the immigrants' relatives were contacted in China to verify their names.

Photographs and fingerprints of all the 123 immigrants have been sent to the FBI in the U.S. and RCMP.

Most of the claimants were ordered detained at hearings last week while immigration authorities and RCMP worked to identify them. Some were still wearing white plastic labels around their left wrists yesterday marked in black with a number between 1 and 123.

The first group of adults granted release yesterday, six men and two women, appeared at their hearing, like all of the claimants, in handcuffs and coveralls. Several smiled as they were handed their release agreements transcribed in Mandarin.

Refugee settlement groups, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army were working yesterday with British Columbia's Ministry of Social Services to ensure the claimants have clothing, shelter and translators.

The claimants' ages range from 14 to 54. Most are male, in their 20s and 30s. Seventeen are women.

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