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Following is a question by the Hon Ma Lik and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, in the Legislative Council today (December 14):
Question:
On September 1 this year, a Vietnamese carrying three bullets was arrested at Man Kam To while attempting to enter Hong Kong illegally. When making a plea in mitigation through his lawyer at the trial, he claimed that he had carried the bullets to ensure that he would be jailed in Hong Kong, so that he could receive assistance in drug withdrawal. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the number of illegal entrants arrested in each of the past three years who stated that they came to Hong Kong with a view to serving imprisonment terms here, with a breakdown by their nationalities, reasons for hoping to be jailed (e.g. for the earnings from work, medical treatment or drug withdrawal in prison) and means of entry; and
(b) the measures adopted to curb the illegal entry of foreigners seeking to serve imprisonment terms in Hong Kong and the effectiveness of such measures?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The vast majority of illegal immigrants (IIs) arrested in the past three years were from the Mainland and Vietnam. They entered Hong Kong illegally either by sea or by land (see relevant statistics at Annex). We do not speculate on II's purposes of entry nor have we kept statistics according to the purposes of their entry, but we have been monitoring the situation where IIs claimed or were alleged to have come to Hong Kong for the purpose of seeking imprisonment.
(b) We have closely monitored IIs' means of entry and their modus operandi so as to ensure that all anti-II measures will remain effective at all times. Apart from regular liaison with the relevant Mainland authorities with a view to curbing the entry of IIs effectively, we have also brought to the attention of the Vietnamese Government the trend of Vietnamese IIs so that appropriate actions can be taken at their end. Overall, the number of IIs entering Hong Kong has been decreasing in recent years. There is no indication that cases in which IIs claimed or were alleged to have come to Hong Kong for the purpose of seeking imprisonment are becoming a trend. Nevertheless, we will continue to give particular attention to such a matter.
Ends/Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Issued at HKT 14:45
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