12 Hong Kong residents were intercepted for smuggling Ye Guoqian: generally not sentenced to life, the client should propose to see a lawyer

Political situation

Written by: Luo Jiaqing

2020-09-07 15:46

Last update date: 2020-09-07 15:50

The Guangdong Coastal Police intercepted a vessel suspected of illegally crossing the border in Chinese waters outside Hong Kong’s southeastern waters, and captured 12 Hong Kong residents suspected of illegally crossing the border, including arrests and arrests for suspected violations of the “Hong Kong National Security Law”. Li Yuxuan, a member of the "Hong Kong Story" who was released on bail.

Ye Guoqian, a representative of the Hong Kong People’s Congress, said when he was inquired by "Hong Kong 01" that the 12 Hong Kong residents who were arrested for smuggling in the Mainland jurisdiction should be handed over to the Mainland courts for trial and sent back to Hong Kong after the trial and the relevant sentence have been completed. The Hong Kong courts dealt with the crimes that they had previously accused of breaching bail conditions.

He emphasized that even if the parties involved violated the "Hong Kong National Security Act," they will not be tried in the Mainland because they are sued by the Hong Kong police.

Ye Guoqian also pointed out that the Hong Kong government can only keep an eye on the incident. If it understands and confirms whether a Hong Kong citizen has been arrested, it will notify the arrested family members of the incident.

He said that the family members of the persons involved would usually go to the Mainland to find out the situation immediately, but now that it is affected by the epidemic, I believe it is more difficult to do so.

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Unable to meet with lawyer Ye Guoqian: usually arranged if the client requests

A few days ago, it was reported that 12 Hong Kong people were arrested for smuggling and are currently detained in Shenzhen Yantian Detention Center. Their families have entrusted Mainland lawyers to meet in the detention center. The lawyers brought their family members to apply for a power of attorney but were unsuccessful.

The report quoted one of the lawyers, Lu Siwei, as saying that the authorities believed that he was not notarized and could not verify the true identity of the client, the family member.

Ye Guoqian said, "Is the client applying?" He pointed out that if the client requests to see a lawyer, the authorities will usually arrange it. In general, there will be a lawyer to assist. However, if the family entrusts a lawyer to request the interview this time, it may be rejected. The reason is that the true identity of his family cannot be verified. 

Ye Guoqian: The maximum sentence for the crime of smuggling is generally not more than 15 years

In the report, a lawyer also quoted the police in the detention center as saying that the client may not only be charged with smuggling, but also suspected of "organizing others to cross the border of the country," or "snake head," which is more serious than the "crime of crossing the border of the country" stated in the original detention notice.

According to mainland law, the maximum sentence can be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Ye Guoqian pointed out that in general smuggling cases will not be sentenced to life imprisonment, unless the death of others in the smuggling process can be sentenced to life, otherwise the maximum sentence will not exceed 15 years.

As for the detention period of the 12 Hong Kong residents, Ye Guoqian said that it depends on the complexity of the case, such as whether the smuggling case will involve "snakeheads" or whether the process involves trafficking, etc., so it is difficult to assess the actual time.

Ye Guoqian pointed out that the Hong Kong government can only keep an eye on the incident. If it understands and confirms whether a Hong Kong citizen has been arrested, it will notify the arrested family members of the incident.

(Photo by Zhang Haowei/Profile Picture)

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