MSA arrests 76 illegal immigrants in Kanazawa

Asian Economic News, April 19, 1999

KANAZAWA, Japan, April 13 Kyodo

The Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) on Tuesday arrested 76 out of 114 Chinese suspected of entering Japan illegally aboard a freighter the day before, an MSA official said. The arrested were 43 men and 33 women, the official said. The arrest of the remaining 38 suspects, all of whom are in custody, is currently being undertaken aboard a patrol boat moored in Kanazawa port in Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast by 40 MSA officers fluent in Chinese. The arrest procedures are being slowed by the fact that all the suspects are having their arrest warrants read out in Chinese, a procedure that takes from 30 to 50 minutes per person, the official said. Law enforcement officials were also questioning the ship's captain, Huang Huahui, and eight crew members of the 980-ton Cambodian-registered cargo ship Zhenyang, which arrived at the port Monday from Quanzhou, Fujian Province, southeastern China. Seven of the 75 men and 39 women on board the ship were admitted to hospital Monday after being found unconscious on the ship due to a lack of oxygen, the official said. Two of the seven are still hospitalized, the official added. Most of the migrants identified Fujian Province in southeastern