HK rejects claim passport thrown at senator

Hong Kong has rejected a claim by the senator son of former Philippine president Joseph Estrada that an immigration officer threw his passport at him when he arrived on Friday. Jinggoy Estrada, 47, told a Manila-based television station the officer seemed angered by his nationality.

His father reiterated the allegation last night: 'The person was very rude. Jinggoy did not use a diplomatic passport, so the officer might have no idea he was my son ... we didn't want to make a big deal out of it. But what happened during the hostage [crisis] wasn't our fault.' Jinggoy Estrada said he understood the tragedy might have created ill-feeling in Hongkongers.

The Immigration Department rejected the claim that its officials mistreated Filipino visitors and said no such complaints had been lodged.

A person familiar with the situation said there was no individual contact with Estrada junior at the immigration checkpoint as he was travelling in a group whose passports were collected and returned by a representative.

Meanwhile, Kris Aquino, a sister of the Philippine president, told GMA News a relative of the survivors shouted at her when she visited them. 'Her name was Lee ... for 25 to 30 minutes, [she] talked non-stop ... but it's okay.'