TNAG-1636-FCO40-2252-Visits-by-FCO-officials-to-Hong-Kong-1987 — Page 35

Mr Adams SEAD

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FROM:

DATE:

D F B LE BRETON, NTD 11 JUNE 1987

VISIT OF MR R MCLAREN CMG TO SINGAPORE, 17-20 JUNE 1987: FALSIFIED PASSPORTS

Problem

1. Singapore immigration officials have returned a falsified British passport to the illegal holder despite their prior undertaking to return it to the BHC Singapore following the completion of legal proceedings against the imposter. The imposter has left Singapore

and still has the passport in her possession.

Recommendation

2. I recommend that Mr McLaren mention our concern in this matter during his meeting with senior Ministry of Home Affairs officials.

Background

3. In December last year an official of the Canadian High Commission brought to the attention of the BHC Singapore a Hong Kong-issued British passport in the name of Joyce Lai Kit Ching which he suspected had been falsified and was not in the possession of the rightful holder. The holder was interviewed at the BHC on 31 December 1986 when it was discovered that her real name was Au Yin Ping, a citizen of the PRC, and that she had bought the passport from a middleman in Canton. The police were called; Miss Au was arrested and subsequently fined $1,000 for entering Singapore on a false passport.

4. The police officers requested the loan of the falsified passport for use as evidence and undertook to return it to the BHC on completion of the legal proceedings. Instead the Singapore authorities returned the passport to Miss Au who still has it in her possession. Their failure to return the passport became the subject of an Exchange of Notes. The MFA finally admitted to negligence on the part of their Immigration Department, and under- took to take steps to prevent a similar recurrence.

5. Despite the undertaking from the MFA, a similar case regarding a falsified Dutch passport has occurred and the Netherlands Embassy have formally protested. BHC wish our grave concern to be expressed

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