A SAMPAN overloaded with 19 illegal immigrants was so unseaworthy it reminded a High Court judge of the Titanic.
Mr Justice Saied sentenced Ngan Sai-fai, 21, and Lai Sun-wai, 22, to five years' jail each after they pleaded guilty to being crewmen on board a sampan which brought 19 young men to Hong Kong.
The court heard that the boat, designed to carry a maximum of four people, had no life-saving or fire-fighting equipment, or a night-navigation device.
Mr Justice Saied, when sentencing Ngan and Lai, said: ''The boat was overloaded and the vessel was not seaworthy - one is reminded of the Titanic here.'' Senior Crown Counsel Laura Millar told the court that on February 2 a Marine Police launch was patrolling the waters off Fan Lau, Lantau Island. Just before 11 pm, the crew spotted a sampan drifting without lights in Chinese territorial waters, just off Lantau.
Its engine appeared to have failed and the boat was being tossed about in a one-metre swell. Ms Millar said the boat had 21 men on board, including the defendants.
The men were using a torch to attract the attention of passing boats. The police launch took them on board.