Wednesday, October 13,
1999 Criminal case against suspected
Chinese smugglers too weak: Crown
Nine of
600 face charges
Adrienne Tanner
National
Post
Evidence against suspected members of a human smuggling ring on
the first boat of Chinese migrants is too flimsy to support criminal
charges, a Crown attorney overseeing the case has decided.
RCMP Corporal Grant Learned says police were informed last week
that their case did not meet the "charge approval standard" applied
to all criminal cases before charges are laid.
"My understanding is our report recommended charges under the
Immigration Act for smuggling," Cpl. Learned said.
But the Crown prosecutor who reviewed the evidence said the
charges would not stand up in court and returned the case to the
RCMP.
Police are continuing the investigation and hope eventually to
gather sufficient evidence to lay charges, he said.
The rusty ship was discovered on July 20 floating in Nootka
Sound, off the coast of Vancouver Island. On board were 123 Chinese
nationals, including 17 women and 13 teenage boys.
Police have identified passengers they believe were running the
smuggling operation, but have had little luck convincing witnesses
to co-operate with the investigation.
"People on these ships have been influenced by fear and threats
of violence, not only against themselves but against their loved
ones in Fujian province," Cpl. Learned said.
So far, only nine of the 600 Asian migrants who came to Canada by
boat this summer are facing criminal charges.
RELATED SITES:
(Each link opens a new window)
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
The brand-new white paper on immigration policy
Statistics Canada: Immigration and
Citizenship
Statistics from the 1996 national census that look at where
Canadians came from.
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