Hong Kong magistrate bars Ramanjit ‘Romi’ Singh from lodging torture claim against Indian authorities in Eastern Court extradition hearing
- Alleged jailbreaker Singh told any claims should be heard by the Immigration Department instead
- Indian government wants the city resident extradited to face charges including theft, fraud and firearms possession
A Hong Kong resident facing extradition to India was barred on Wednesday from making a torture claim in court after a magistrate sided with the government by ruling that the matter was reserved for the Immigration Department.
Magistrate Pang Leung-ting said the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance does not permit parallel proceedings in his court and through the department, as he threw out Ramanjit Singh’s attempt to challenge his extradition with claims that he risks brutal treatment if returned to the country of his birth.
The ruling meant Singh, also known as Romi, would have to abandon his reliance on the Hong Kong Bill of Rights and focus his challenge on invoking protection from the ordinance itself, which would require him to demonstrate that the offences he stands accused of were merely a smokescreen for political persecution.
The Indian government is seeking the 30-year-old’s surrender over two criminal cases in 2016, which they say involved the equivalent of 28 serious offences in Hong Kong, including theft, fraud, possession of firearms, escape from lawful custody as well as conspiracy, aiding and abetting charges.
But earlier accusations of attempted murder, terrorism and drug-related charges were excluded from the present proceedings after the authorities found there was insufficient evidence to support prosecution.