Lawmaker 'put spotlight on undocumented boy to pressure Hong Kong authorities'

Beijing-loyalist lawmaker Chan Yuen-han yesterday admitted she brought the case of an undocumented mainland boy to the media's attention to put pressure on the Immigration Department and increase his chances of staying in Hong Kong permanently.

Chan's admission came as more than 100 protesters marched from Causeway Bay to Immigration Department headquarters in Wan Chai, demanding that 12-year-old Siu Yau-wai be returned to the mainland immediately and criticising Chan for "betraying" Hong Kong.

The protesters said it would set a dangerous precedent if authorities listened to Chan and exercised discretionary powers to allow Yau-wai to stay. He is said to have been living in the city illegally for nine years since he was three years old.

Chan organised a press conference for the boy and his grandmother Chow Siu-shuen, 67, on Thursday. The grandmother claimed she brought him to Hong Kong from the mainland when he was three after he was abandoned by his parents.

After the press conference Chow was arrested for aiding and abetting a person in breaching conditions of stay, while Yau-wai was granted the so-called "walk-free permit", or recognisance form, to allow him to stay temporarily pending investigation.

In a statement last night, the Immigration Department said the issuance of the permit did not mean the boy had been granted residency in the city. The spokesman said the department's investigation had just begun.

"We will first try to verify the boy's identity and, through relevant mainland authorities, check if the information supplied by him and any other relevant parties in the case is true," a spokesman said.