Home>News Center>China
       
 

Britain opens Chinese workers drowning case
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-09-12 09:19

The trial of five people charged in connection with the Morecambe Bay cockle-picking tragedy in which at least 21 Chinese migrants drowned opens on Monday, AFP reported.

On February 5, 2004, the workers were just off the northwest English coast picking cockles, a kind of shellfish, when they drowned in fast-rising tidal waters.

Besides the 21 known dead, all from the Fujian and Liaoning provinces of China, a further two people are still missing and presumed dead.

The disaster cast a spotlight on the plight of Chinese and other foreign migrant workers, many of them in Britain illegally, and the so-called "gangmasters" that hire them on low wages to do manual labour.

The trial is to begin at 10:30 am (0930 GMT) in Preston Crown Court, 25 miles (40 kilometres) south of Morecambe, before judge Richard Henriques.

The court is to select a jury on Monday with the opening statements to be made on Tuesday.

Lin Laing Ren, 28, is charged with 21 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to commit facilitation -- an offence relating to the organisation of illegal immigrants -- and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Zhao Qing Xiao, 20, is charged with conspiracy to commit facilitation and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The pair live together in Liverpool, northern England.

Lin Mu Yong, 30, from Liverpool, is charged with facilitation.

David Eden, 62, and his 34-year-old son, also David Eden, from Prenton near Liverpool, are charged with breaching immigration and labour law. They run the Liverpool Bay Fishing Company.

Morecambe Bay is known for its treacherous quicksand and fast-rising tides, which can come in quicker than a person can run. The local coastguard regularly have to rescue stranded cocklers.

In August 2004, 136 people had to be rescued after a tractor collision four miles out, thought to be the result of a turf war between rival Scottish and Chinese cockle-picker gangs.

The tide in the bay can rise up to 35 feet (10.5 metres) and fall back 7.5 miles (12 kilometres) away from the shore.

A June 2004 inquest into the deaths heard that victims phoned their loved ones with pleas for help as they drowned.

To confirm the identities of the dead, Lancashire Police officers travelled to China to take DNA samples from relatives. Britain's Home Office funded their repatriation once they were identified.

It is thought that at least 3,000 gangmasters -- employing up to 100,000 workers, many of them illegal immigrants -- operate in fields such as shellfish collection, agriculture, food processing and packaging.

In July 2004, Prime Minister Tony Blair's government adopted legislation aimed at reining them in.

The Gangmasters Licensing Act requires regular inspections to make sure that gangmasters comply with the law in areas such as immigration, housing and social security.

However, the authority may not begin issuing licences until late 2005 and there could be no raids on the worst offenders until the middle of 2006.

There are still concerns about what is happening to Chinese and other workers who may have paid large sums of money to "snakehead" gangs to be smuggled into Britain, and whose presence is unknown to the authorities.

In June 2000, 58 Chinese died of suffocation in the back of a Dutch truck, trying to enter Britain illegally.

The court intends to visit Morecambe Bay on September 21, weather and tide permitting.

The town of Morecambe is a fading seaside resort across the bay from the mountains of England's picturesque Lake District.

The bay is Britain's second largest but it has the country's biggest inter-tidal sandflats and mudflats, covering 119 square miles (310 square kilometres).



Hu arrives in Mexico for state visit
US Pacific Command Commander in Zhanjiang
President Hu in Canada for visit
  Today's Top News     Top China News
 

East coast provinces battered by Typhoon Khanun

 

   
 

President Hu arrives in Mexico for visit

 

   
 

Shenzhou VI flight 'after October holiday'

 

   
 

EU warns of new China textile 'disaster'

 

   
 

China drafts emergency plans for influenza

 

   
 

Optimism for a harmonious Hong Kong

 

   
  Chinese vice-president inspects HK equestrian racecourse
   
  Chinese evacuate as typhoon threatens Shanghai
   
  China's diplomacy enters golden age
   
  Chinese president identifies areas for enhanced coop with Canada
   
  Hong Kong Disneyland ready to open Monday
   
  Former US President Clinton addresses China Internet Summit
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  It is time to prepare for Beijing - 2008  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 女人张开腿让男人桶免费网站| 欧美天堂在线观看| 国产内射xxxxx在线| 18级成人毛片免费观看| 天天操天天射天天插| 一道本视频在线观看| 日本三人交xxx69视频| 亚洲av人无码综合在线观看 | 两个美女脱了内裤互摸网沾| 日韩亚洲欧洲在线rrrr片| 亚洲一级视频在线观看| 欧美精品一区二区三区在线| 人人爽天天爽夜夜爽曰| 精品久久久久久中文字幕| 四虎www成人影院| 色综合视频一区二区三区| 国产女主播一区| 久久精品国产精品国产精品污| www.5any.com| 日本一区二区视频| 久久精品国产99国产精2020丨| 欧美videosgratis蛇交| 亚洲天堂一区在线| 欧美高清视频一区| 亚洲自偷精品视频自拍| 白嫩无码人妻丰满熟妇啪啪区百度| 另类视频在线观看| 老师xxxx69动漫| 国产一级黄色片子| 试看120秒做暖暖免费体验区| 国产在线精品美女观看| 国产精品亚洲自在线播放页码| 国产精品www| 香蕉啪视频在线观看视频久| 国产美女视频一区| 91精品国产入口| 国产黄在线观看免费观看不卡| 97大香伊在人人线色| 国精品在亚洲_欧美| 99久久综合狠狠综合久久aⅴ| 在线观看视频日韩|