Man should be deported over gang ties: Ottawa

A man allowed into Canada 17 years ago should be kicked out of the country because there is ample evidence he was part of an Asian criminal gang, says the federal government.

But in newly released written arguments, Lai Tong Sang’s lawyer said Ottawa is basing its arguments on multiple layers of hearsay evidence that is unreliable.

Lai, his wife and three children became permanent Canadian residents in 1996, but it wasn’t until 2011 when the family asked for citizenship that the federal government moved to eject them.

Last February, an immigration adjudicator in Vancouver heard evidence that Lai was the leader of a Macau triad, had ordered the murders of three of his gang rivals, and that another rival had taken a contract out on Lai’s life.

Documents submitted by the Minister of Public Safety to the Immigration and Refugee Board state that Lai and his family should be deported.

“There is ample credible and trustworthy evidence to establish that there are reasonable grounds to believe Mr. Lai was a member of the Shui Fong triad in Macau.”

The submission states Lai is alleged to have taken part in a pattern of activities that would be an indictable offence if they were committed in Canada. “Furthermore, documentary evidence and the testimony of the minister’s witnesses demonstrate there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Shui Fong triad in Macau engaged in activities such as loan sharking, killing and assaults.”

Evidence presented at the hearing said a police wiretap overheard evidence that a contract was being taken out on Lai’s life because of a turf war with the so- called 14K gang.

In July 1997, police say Lai’s Vancouver home was the target of a driveby shooting. But in a written response, Lai’s lawyer, Peter Chapman, claimed the government relied on information from corrupt police organizations and work from journalists who engaged in sensationalism.

“With respect to the wiretap evidence, it is important to note that any assumptions made on the basis of that evidence will likely involve multiple layers of hearsay evidence.”

Chapman pointed out the government’s own arguments make numerous references to articles about police corruption in Macau and said the witnesses at the hearing overstated the reliability of evidence from Macau police. He also questioned why Ottawa is trying to remove Lai so many years after he and his family became permanent residents.

Chapman claimed that without a reliable foundation of compelling and credible evidence against Lai, the minister’s claim can’t succeed.