They say immigration director must explain use of excessive force on mother, child Lawyers have demanded the Director of Immigration explain why his officers used excessive force in trying to drag a mother and her 31/2-year-old daughter on to a plane in an effort to deport them. The South China Morning Post revealed yesterday that Teresita Trumpo Failano, 39, had sustained deep bruises to her wrists and forearms that she claimed were inflicted when the officials dragged and pulled her by the handcuffs. They also pulled her hair, punched her arm and kicked her in front of her daughter after separating the pair, she said. It also emerged yesterday that the Queen Mary Hospital's doctors who examined the pair had also treated the toddler, Janine Shaina Ma, for an injury to her right wrist and swelling to the left eyelid. Police are now investigating Ms Failano's complaints of assault occasioning bodily harm as well as assaults against her daughter. The pair were on board a Cathay Pacific flight due to leave for Manila on Thursday when a Court of First Instance judge, Mrs Justice Verina Bokhary, issued an order restraining the director from deporting Janine - only minutes before the plane was about to leave. Janine had been at the centre of a removal order that was being challenged in the courts. A hearing into an appeal over the granting of Legal Aid was scheduled for August. Mrs Justice Bokhary has halted all moves to deport the girl until a court hearing next Friday. Lawyers yesterday complained to the Director of Immigration over the treatment of Ms Failano and Janine. They sent a letter saying: 'We are instructed that despite pleas over the telephone to your senior immigration officer ... to treat the above-named properly, that our clients were seriously assaulted repeatedly causing real injuries which are the subject of a separate police complaint.' The lawyers are asking for the names and ranks of all officers involved as well as the guidelines for the use of force. Also sought is an explanation for the pair's immediate removal despite the on-going legal action that is yet to be decided by the courts. Human Rights Foundation chairman Aaron Nattrass yesterday said the use of violence, particularly on a child, was 'totally unacceptable and abhorrent'. An Immigration Department spokesman refused to comment on individual cases and said its officers were allowed to use 'minimum force' when repatriating a person. He added the department will look into any complaint. Janine, who was born in Hong Kong, has struggled to get permanent residency as her supposed father, a Hong Kong permanent resident of Pakistani origin, refused to sign a copy of the birth certificate.
