Asia-Pacific News
South Asian asylum seekers withdraw torture claims in Hong Kong
Jan 5, 2010, 8:29 GMT
Hong Kong - Hundreds of asylum seekers in Hong Kong have withdrawn their claims and headed home after a law was approved to stop them working in the wealthy city, officials said Tuesday.
A government spokesman said 368 refugees, mostly from South Asia, had withdrawn claims that they faced torture if they returned home after the law came into effect in November.
The legislation was rushed in to reverse a High Court ruling in March 2008 which allowed asylum seekers to work in Hong Kong while their claims were being processed.
The court ruling triggered a flood of undocumented migrants from South Asia into Hong Kong, many of them arriving in rickety sampans after paying people smugglers in neighboring southern China.
Immigration officials and police launched a crackdown on illegal workers to coincide with the new law in November and have arrested more than 400 people, the government spokesman said.
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