Relatives of three jailed Hong Kong sailors will stage a petition outside Guangdong government office today, demanding the release of their relatives.
They said the sailors were innocent and accused the Guangdong People's Supreme Court of being irresponsible and deliberately delaying their appeal.
The sailors, Yeung Kim-yuen, Ho Ping-kay and Yip She-lam, were convicted of smuggling by Shenzhen People's Intermediate Court in July last year, five years after they were arrested by Shenzhen police when their ship was intercepted near Zhuhai in October 1992.
They were charged with smuggling and sentenced to 10 to 15 years in jail. Shenzhen police released the foreign ship captain and first mate.
Guangdong Supreme Court accepted their appeal last August but has not responded since then.
Yip Kwai-wah, the elder brother of Yip She-lam, said the case had ruined their family and he could not support his elderly parents on his own.
