8 Hong Kong arrests over the man in mask
Source: Agencies |
01:00 UTC+8 January 11, 2011
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Print Edition
Print Edition
HONG Kong authorities have arrested eight people suspected of helping smuggle a young passenger from Chinese mainland on to a flight to Canada wearing a Hollywood-style disguise as an elderly white man.
The man, believed to be in his 20s, sought asylum after arriving in Vancouver on October 29.
He is suspected of traveling to Hong Kong with genuine travel documents, then swapping them for fake papers and donning the remarkably detailed silicone mask to change his appearance before boarding the Air Canada flight.
Canadian authorities said the man removed the mask in a washroom mid-flight.
Hong Kong officials arrested five men and three women over the weekend, Elly Au Yeung, an information officer for the Hong Kong Immigration Department, said yesterday.
She said a member of the Hong Kong International Airport ground staff and two former employees were among those arrested.
The eight are suspected smugglers who supplied the passenger with new travel papers at the Hong Kong airport, she said.
They were arrested on suspicion of swapping boarding passes, selling passports and conspiracy to defraud an airline operator, she said.
The suspected smugglers charged clients about 300,000 yuan (US$45,000) each, she said.
A Hollywood-based company, SPFXMasks, said the mask was one of its models, called The Elder.
The company said it was proud of how authentic its products look but never intended them to be misused.
The Chinese young man, whose name has been banned from publication, remains in custody in Canada pending confirmation of his identity and a ruling on his request for political asylum.
The man, believed to be in his 20s, sought asylum after arriving in Vancouver on October 29.
He is suspected of traveling to Hong Kong with genuine travel documents, then swapping them for fake papers and donning the remarkably detailed silicone mask to change his appearance before boarding the Air Canada flight.
Canadian authorities said the man removed the mask in a washroom mid-flight.
Hong Kong officials arrested five men and three women over the weekend, Elly Au Yeung, an information officer for the Hong Kong Immigration Department, said yesterday.
She said a member of the Hong Kong International Airport ground staff and two former employees were among those arrested.
The eight are suspected smugglers who supplied the passenger with new travel papers at the Hong Kong airport, she said.
They were arrested on suspicion of swapping boarding passes, selling passports and conspiracy to defraud an airline operator, she said.
The suspected smugglers charged clients about 300,000 yuan (US$45,000) each, she said.
A Hollywood-based company, SPFXMasks, said the mask was one of its models, called The Elder.
The company said it was proud of how authentic its products look but never intended them to be misused.
The Chinese young man, whose name has been banned from publication, remains in custody in Canada pending confirmation of his identity and a ruling on his request for political asylum.
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