CBC.CA News}
cbcca  home shop · help · contact · search   
Email News Digest | Audio | Video | CBC Radio Newscast | CBC Newsworld Newscast    
CBC Front Page
News
Indepth »
Viewpoint »
Programs »
Live »
Zone française »
Business
Sports
Weather
Entertainment
Kids
Consumers
Local Sites
Interactive
Message Boards
Program Websites
On-Air Guide
Inside CBC
Everest2000
Concerts

Search News:


CBC Corporate

Radio-Canada

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2000 CBC
All Rights Reserved

Trial begins for accused in migrant smuggling
WebPosted Wed May 31 18:02:01 2000

VICTORIA - The first of the trials associated with the smuggling of Chinese migrants into Canada last summer began Wednesday in Victoria.

It involves the Korean crew of the second migrant ship that dumped its passengers on a tiny island off the Queen Charlotte Islands and then tried to flee.

The case has been preceded by almost three months of complex legal wrangling and a confrontation between the judge and the Immigration Department.

But the jury has finally heard the opening arguments.

The Crown is alleging this is a clear cut case of human smuggling. Prosecutor Peter Laprarie says the Korean's decrepit ship was tracked by military aircraft as it approached the Queen Charlottes last August and left 131 Chinese men, women and children on a tiny island in Gilbert Bay.

It was cold and wet. Some of the migrants suffered from hypothermia and had to be airlifted to hospital.

The Korean ship tried to flee , said the Crown, but was turned around by Canadian ships and aircraft, and then arrested.

The jury was told they'll see videotape of the wretched conditions inside the ship and they'll hear from many of the migrants on board.

The Koreans are facing a total of five charges, and if found guilty could face lengthy jail terms and fines.

The pre-trial motions have already taken up 55 days and provoked an unusual tug-of-war between the judge and the Immigration Department over whether the Koreans should be released from jail.

Justice Ron McKinnon has also raised the issue of racial prejudice by questioning jurors on whether having Asians of Korean nationality, accused of smuggling Chinese, would affect their impartiality.

The Koreans, who are pleading not guilty, will decide whether to present a defence after the Crown rests its case.


Chris Brown reports for CBC Radio
[Download Players]
N e w s   S e a r c h Email Story | Print Story
KEYWORDS:    FROM:   TO: 

A u d i o

T e l l  U s  W h a t  Y o u  T h i n k

H e a d l i n e s : Canada