Abode seekers who have returned to the mainland claim they have been fined, jailed and in some cases beaten despite an assurance from Hong Kong officials that they would not be punished.
Right of Abode Committee representative Fu Ka-wai said she had received complaints that 21 mainlanders who carried a special letter of pardon from the SAR Government were ordered by mainland officials to pay a 5,000 yuan (HK$4,700) fine.
Four people who could not afford to pay were jailed for 15 days and another for two days, said Ms Fu, who made the claims yesterday at a rally attended by about 1,500 abode seekers.
Sixty-three adults and three children, aged three to five, had their heads shaved outside the Court of Final Appeal in protest at the January 10 ruling ordering most of 5,114 applicants back to the mainland.
Ms Fu produced a photocopy of a stamped receipt from the Shenzhen border office dated January 16 purportedly showing that one abode seeker had paid a 5,000 yuan fine. She claimed some people had been beaten but said she was still collecting evidence.
She did not name any of the complainants and said she had not lodged complaints with the Government, choosing to air the matter through the media.