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Chinese suspect to be deported under special security measures
View(s):The Chinese suspect detained while trying to enter Sri Lanka on a forged passport recently is to be deported to his country under special security arrangements.
The Chinese embassy has been requested to provide a separate aircraft along with security personnel to deport the Chinese national to his country where he is wanted for a narcotic-related offence.
The request for special security arrangements has been made considering the behaviour of the Chinese suspect after he was detained at the Bandaranaike International Airport on May 18.
He was found with a forged passport of Guinea, a country in West Africa.
Immigration and Emigration Controller General Harsha Ilukpitiya told the Sunday Times the Chinese suspect was likely to be deported on Wednesday or Thursday, and added that the Department was having negotiations with the Chinese government to arrange means of deporting him.
He is being detained at the Welikada Intermediate Detention Center.
A Writ Application was filed in the Court of Appeal this week seeking an order to nullify the Controller General’s order to deport the Chinese national.
The petition was rejected on Monday after being taken up by a bench comprising Justice Bandula Karunaratne (Court of Appeal President) and Justice Ashan Marikkar.
The petition was made by Ashoka Wijeyawardna who was also a lawyer. President’s Counsel Sanjeewa Wijayawaredena appeared on behalf of the Chinese national and the Attorney General was represented by Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Prasnna Bandara.
During the court hearing, it was revealed that a Chinese court has issued a warrant to arrest the suspect identified as Li Pan over a drug-related crime in 2019. However, Mr Li had left his country.
The man had flown down to Sri Lanka from Dubai using a Guinea passport. However, Interpol has revealed that the Guinea passport was forged. The Chinese embassy said the Chinese national was a criminal wanted by the Chinese government, and, therefore he needed to be taken back to China. The embassy also asked that he be not sent to another country.
Mr Li had accused the Immigration officials of assaulting him.
However, a judicial medical examination irevealed that the injuries were self-inflicted with a toothbrush.
Meanwhile, the Urban Development and Housing State Minister Arundika Fernando who wrote to the Immigration Controller General requesting to grant Mr. Li permission to “embark without hassle”, said he made the written request after two Chinese companies who had brought the Chinese national as an investor urged him to do so.
He claimed that the company’s representative had told him that a Chinese investor had two passports and one of them was a genuine Chinese passport, and therefore he intervened in getting the man into the country.
He said the two companies were interested parties in a project with 2,500 houses built under the Housing Ministry.
Mr Fernando said he was unaware of the “Chinese investor’s background, including the allegations in the narcotics case.
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