South Africa January 2005 |
|
| Simple to enter SA under a false name, (Cape Argus, 2005-01-09):-A department of home affairs official, testifying in the bail application of four Chinese nationals accused of dealing in tik, has told the Bellville regional court in Cape Town that there is no system to prevent someone using a false name and passport from entering the country. Immigration official Desmond Adams was giving evidence in the Bellville regional court in the bail application by Chinese nationals Jiang Dong Li, 32, Kan Wai Ho, 33, Kai Nam Chan, 39. Co-accused Jannie Chan Hong, 33, has already been granted bail of R50 000. The four are appearing before regional magistrate Johan Vermaak on charges of dealing in the outlawed drug, known as tik. They were arrested last month after the Western Cape Police Organised Crime Unit raided a house in Somerset West and a tik factory in an upmarket Plattekloof home and seized tik with a street value of R4-million. Adams told the court that there was nothing in the department's monitoring system to prevent someone like Li from re-entering the country using a false name and passport if he wished to do so. Adams said that in September 2000, Li, who last year was convicted of illegally possessing a firearm but acquitted on charges of perlemoen poaching, had paid a fine as an admission of guilt for being in South Africa on a "fraudulent" residence permit. He was duly deported by the department of home affairs on September 15, 2000. Adams told the court that once blacklisted (as Li was), a person was then placed on an "entry-exit stop list" in the system, the purpose of which was to prevent such a person from re-entering the country illegally. "But, if the person then comes back under a different name and passport number, he might be able to enter the country," said Adams. "The only way we would (be able) catch such a person was if his fingerprints were taken and kept on record in Pretoria." Adams said the department's system recorded the names, passport numbers and other personal details of immigrants who had committed offences but had "no method of identification by fingerprinting". "This makes the system much less effective," he admitted. "We simply have no record of Li's return on our system. But he did return because he's here, as you can see," quipped Adams. "You mean to say that you have no record whatsoever to indicate when and where such a person returned?" asked Vermaak. "No," replied Adams. Li has asked the court to regard him as "a refugee" from his homeland China, saying that he would like to remain in Cape Town, where he is employed as a chef on a monthly salary of R2 500 and where he supports a four-year-old son and a girlfriend by the name of "Bibi." But Adams expressed doubt that someone like Li would qualify for asylum, which was granted to citizens who fled their own countries for their personal safety. "But in all my eight years as an immigration officer, I have never come across a Chinese national who is in possession of refugee status," Adams said. He said he knew of nothing that would enable such as person to obtain refugee status. The application was postponed to January 17. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |