NINETEEN Filipino seamen are being detained by the Immigration Department aboard a ship in Victoria Harbour - their vessel and passports under suspicion. The captain and one of his crew were yesterday found guilty in Western Court of possessing forged documents. Immigration, police and marine officials are keeping close watch as the ship, the Sea Raider, is listed in diplomatic intelligence files as a suspected human-cargo carrier. Captain John Patrick San Gabriel, 29, and Francisco Encienzo, 39, both pleaded guilty. Magistrate Hugh Sinclair sentenced them to six months in prison suspended for one year. The convictions reopened the saga of the Philippines-registered Sea Raider, which dates back to last year when the ship became stranded in Hongkong. Engine trouble had prevented the ship from picking up a load of mainland illegal immigrants hoping to get to America. Debts of US$300,000 (HK$2.33 million) and persistent mechanical problems kept the ship in Hongkong until April, when it was allowed to sail home to Manila. The ship returned to Hongkong on Monday under a 12-month charter arranged by a local shipping company.
