MARINE Police last night refused to hand over a fishing vessel to a group of six Chinese Public Security Bureau officers aboard an unmarked speedboat that had intruded into Hongkong waters off the Ninepin group of islands. The Chinese police, five men and a woman, were carrying side arms. They said they were on an undercover patrol and asked the Marine Police to hand over the fishing vessel as they believed it was involved in smuggling. As the incident occurred inside Hongkong waters, the police refused. The Chinese police then sailed back into Chinese waters. The incident occurred shortly after 8 pm when officers on board a patrolling Marine Police launch intercepted a fishing vessel and an unmarked speedboat about 1.5 kilometres east of the Ninepin group. Police found no contraband goods on the junk, which was later found to have come from China. Its crew members told police the Public Security Bureau officers had used the vessel as a decoy in an attempt to stop vessels involved in smuggling.
