Inmates 'lost all belongings'
A SIGNIFICANT number of Vietnamese lost virtually all their belongings in the raid, the report found.
''It is clear from our interviews with many Vietnamese migrants (VMs) that they feel very upset and bitter about the loss of belongings. We fully understand this. Many lost personal items such as documents, photographs and address books,'' it said.
Vietnamese who stayed on until the last round of tear-gas were not given time to pack and failed to take anything with them, although some women in those families were allowed to return.
CSD officers cleared the huts of belongings at the end of the operation and the items were transferred to High Island and put out for collection.
More items were retrieved from the section and transferred to High Island between April 9 and 18.
The report said: ''Even though it would have taken time and involved officers escorting VMs back to their dormitories, our view is that VMs should have been allowed back to pack after the third round under escort.
''There was, at that stage, no danger of their going back to the roofs, especially as they would be packing under escort.
''We believe that this effort was worth making in view of the importance of the belongings to the VMs and the bitter resentment of CSD resulting from their loss which should have been foreseen.'' Vietnamese who left before the hut-clearing operation were assisted by CSD officers using trolleys in getting their belongings out of Section 7.
Most of this group managed to bring all or most of their belongings out.
The items were transported to High Island by separate lorries and were put in the yard for collection. Some Vietnamese lost their items during transit.
