IT was derisory for the Government to say the 111 Vietnamese boat people locked up for 561 days should get token damages, Mr Justice Chan was told yesterday in the High Court.
In reply to final submissions by the Government, Mr Gerard McCoy, for the boat people, said they had not even been offered compensatory damages.
Urging the judge to award a ''very large amount of money'' to underline the importance of liberty, he said they were talking of massive amounts because of the ''massive'' scenario: 111 people falsely imprisoned for 561 days amounted to 60,000 human days,or the lifetime of 21/2 people.
Substantial damages would teach the Government a lesson, he said, for giving advice such as ''it was arguably all right to lock them up and leave them there''.
He urged the judge to award aggravated damages because of the poor conditions of the camps the plaintiffs were detained in. They were detained in May 1989.
He also cited their uncertainty and fear for their personal safety, their forcible removal to another camp and the use of tear-gas against them.