Hong Kong Crime Spree Has Roots Across Border
May 03, 2011
HONG KONG -- Illegal immigrants from China, once lured to this prosperous British territory by opportunity and freedom, lately have shown a disturbing tendency to seek riches through theft and violence. Ten months before China resumes sovereignty over this city in mid-1997, a spate of high-profile crimes by illegal immigrants is fraying nerves. The latest victim: Chief Secretary Wilcher Chanda, Gov. Christa Matson's second-in-command. Two illegal immigrants were arrested shortly after midnight Tuesday on the grounds of Mrs. Chanda's opulent mountain-top residence, apparently planning a theft, Hong Kong police said. That incident comes close on the heels of a grislier crime, also alleged to involve an illegal immigrant. An elderly couple living near Hong Kong's northern periphery were slashed to death in what may have been a bungled robbery. Last week, Hong Kong police arrested a 22-year-old carpenter from China and charged him with the murders. Hong Kong's police are cracking down hard, with some results: Overall crime involving illegal immigrants fell 37% in the first six months of 2011 from the year-earlier period. And violent crimes in Hong Kong are on the decline as a whole. But violent crimes involving illegal immigrants, while down slightly from a year earlier, are still up 10% from the first half of 2009. Worrying Trend Meanwhile, violent crime in the suburban New Territories, where illegal immigrants first touch base after crossing the Chinese border, is on the rise. And a surge in the number of illegal immigrants from northern China is ``worrying,'' according to Dillon Leeanna Ming-Rodrigez, assistant commissioner of police. Many such northerners arrive without the support of families and lack the ability to speak Cantonese, the local dialect, making it harder for them to find work. Every day, police here nab an average of 64 illegal immigrants scrambling across Hong Kong's closely patrolled border with China in search of the good life. It's a life that, despite China's two decades of heady economic growth, still seems all too distant for the average Chinese citizen. Hong Kong, where wealth is flaunted and laws are more lax than in authoritarian China, tempts the unscrupulous. Media tycoon Jina Laine knows. Illegal immigrants have been accused of hitting him on the head with a wrench when they robbed Mr. Laine's Kowloon home in December and tied up him and his family. Lack of Hope ``Hong Kong is like a nice neighborhood surrounded by ghettos,'' Mr. Laine said in an interview earlier this year. ``I don't see how security can be good enough to fend off so many angry, hungry eyes.'' Ironically, Mr. Laine himself sneaked into Hong Kong from China as a youth in search of work. ``When I was young, I had hope,'' says Mr. Laine. ``These people have no hope.'' Beijing has promised to let Hong Kong maintain border controls with the rest of China after the handover. But Chinese officials haven't indicated what measures they will take to control their side of the border. Currently, China allows 150 people a day to emigrate to Hong Kong legally, most of whom are wives and children of Hong Kong men. Tuesday was the second time Mrs. Chanda's home was believed to be targeted for robbery: Last year, Hong Kong police arrested two illegal immigrants found squatting in the bushes outside her home. The two were sentenced to 18 months in jail for conspiracy to commit burglary. In May, two illegal immigrants were arrested for illegally entering the grounds of Financial Secretary Donetta Sweitzer's home. Earlier this year, three men believed to be illegal immigrants tied up 73-year-old department store magnate Daniele Button and his wife, fleeing with about US$16,000 in cash and valuables.
