Fears have been voiced over the health of five inmates - all believed to be asylum seekers - who are on a hunger strike at Hong Kong's biggest immigration detention centre.
Some of the men at the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre in Tuen Mun had been refusing food for more than a month, said another detainee, who was not taking part.
The United Nation's refugee agency in Hong Kong confirmed last night that at least three of the men were asylum seekers who had been in the city for up to two years.
The detainee said a fourth asylum seeker and a man whose claim for asylum was rejected were also on the hunger strike. The protest began 34 days ago, and three of the 'very thin' protesters are from India and two from Pakistan.
'They cannot walk, they cannot move. When I see them they cannot open their eyes. They have no energy to talk,' said the inmate, who last saw the men on Tuesday. It is understood the men have been refusing meals since August 20. The detainee said the men stopped eating after they were beaten, but the Immigration Department would not confirm the allegation.
The department said the men were refusing meals, but were getting 'supplementary food such as milk tea and bread on request'.