TNAG-0792-FCO40-996-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1978 — Page 290

Note No 25

HKK 243 RECEIVED IN REGÍSTRY NO.

0 5 JUN 1978

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

PA

مید

RE

Action Th.

98

firmath of Ministry

The British High Commission present their compliments

of Foreign Affairs and have the honour to draw their attention to

the following matter.

The message

Early on the morning of 18 May the Hong Kong Marine Department

picked up an emergency radio message to all ships from the SS Tong

Cing, a vessel registered in Lingapore and owned by kie Hock

Shipping ite Itd, a company incorporated in Singapore.

asked for help to be given to a liferaft sighted by the ship about

five miles south-east of Hong Kong with "about" 22 people on board.

The Captain claimed to be losing sight of the liferaft in fog. The

SS Tong Sing had left the area by the time the liferaft was rescued

by a Royal Navy patrol boat. It was then discovered that the life-

raft was one from the SS Tong Sing. Interviews with the 22

.༣༣

refugees revealed that they had been picked up from a junk on 15 May

somewhere between Vietnam and Malaysia. The SS Tong Sing was en

route to China and all the refugees were Overseas Chinese from

Vietnam who had no wish to be taken to China. They had therefore

requested the Captain to put them to sea near Hong Kong.

Despite the refugees' own request, the action of the Captain of the

SS Tong Sing in setting them adrift in the open sea exposed them to danger, which could have been avoided if the Captain had kept them

on board until proper landing arrangements could be made for them

at some port of call.

It is recognised that the Captain of the SS Tong Sing acted in the

best traditions of his calling in picking up the refugees in the

first place, but his subsequent decision to set them adrift in the

/open