GF 323
1
34.
CONFIDENTIAL
機密
The examination of the log revealed a number of discrepancies which supported the view that the embarkation of refugees by the ship was part of a planned operation. The log failed to account satisfactorily for a 51 hour period about 24 hours after the vessel left Bangkok. At 1210 hours on 9th December the log reported that the engines were stopped due to an oil leak from a piston. At this point the ship is stated to have "commenced floating according to international regulations". At 1503 hours on 11th December the engines were repaired and the ship resumed course until 1300 hours on 17th December when the log reported that the ship found nine fishing boats at about seven miles from the ship's starboard side. This was regarded as suspicious by the Marine Department because normally the presence of fishing boats in that area would not be so unusual as to warrant entry in the log. An entry in the log an hour later read: "Approached fishing boats, found each fishing boat many people, use hands through white and red cloth and cry to save us".
35.
The refugees in hospital who were interviewed by C.I.D. maintained that they boarded junks or small fishing boats in the Mekong Delta. They said that they were at sea for about three days and that they were sailing separately, not in convoy. They were brought on deck when the boats began to leak and they then noticed that there were nine boats in the immediate vicinity. They said that the "Huey Fong" appeared within half a day. of the refugees said that some form of payment had been made by someone in their family, but they did not know to whom the money was given.
36.
All
On 5th January an article appeared in the Far East Economic Review entitled "New Vietnam Profits from Human Traffic:". The article stated that the "Huey Fong" had picked up the refugees in the Mekong Delta as part of a huge paid exodus organised by the Vietnamese Government. It alleged that the "Huey Fong" had moored in a sheltered anchorage near Cat Lai, 16 kilometres from Saigon, in early December and that the refugees, each of whom had paid a considerable sum in gold, had boarded there. The substance of this report tallied with the information available atthe time to the C.I.D.
37.
On 13th January, the Master of the "Huey Fong" was interviewed on board HMS Wolverton by two Marine Department officials and a C.I.D. officer, who did not disclose his identity. The purpose of this meeting was to obtain substantive evidence about the alleged rescue of the refugees, without having to caution the Master. He explained the discrepancy in the ship's log by saying that on 15th December the deck cargo shifted as a result of heavy seas and it was necessary to alter course to allow the crew to secure the lashings. After that it was necessary to continue running back on a reciprocal course in order to accurately fix the ship's position before resuming his course to the north-east. His account of taking people
on board agreed with that already given by the refugees. He said that the embarkation had taken 22 hours and that he had then decided to head for Hong Kong because the refugees had brought very little food with them.
CONFIDENTIAL
機密
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