Beijing: An Indian national has been jailed for 16 months by a Hong Kong court for smuggling a Pakistani deportee inside a suitcase.

Pardeep Singh, 22, was found guilty of one count of aiding and abetting a person to land in Hong Kong without permission, a spokesman for the immigration department of Hong Kong said on February 20.

Singh was found guilty after a trial at the Kwun Tong magistracy on February 20, the spokesman said.

Investigation revealed that Singh arrived in Hong Kong from China through the Lo Wu control point on December 26 last year. He was carrying with him a large piece of luggage. As his purpose of visit was doubtful, he was required to undergo further enquiries by immigration control officers.

Singh denied that the luggage belonged to him and when the suitcase was opened, a 24- year-old Pakistani national, Raja Kamran was found hiding inside.

Later, Singh claimed that he met an Indian friend by coincidence at a duty-free shop on December 26 last year and was entrusted to carry the big piece of luggage to Hong Kong.

He denied having knowledge that the suitcase contained a person instead of 2,000 pieces of mobile phone batteries as he was told by the Indian friend.

Records of Hong Kong immigration showed that the Pakistani national was deported from Hong Kong for life on August 14 last year. He received 18 months' imprisonment sentence in January for the offences of breach of deportation order and landing in Hong Kong without permission.

The verdict comes after a leading newspaper in Hong Kong 'South China Morning Post' revealed that a smuggling syndicate has been taking illegal immigrants from India and Pakistan across the Lo Wu border from Shenzhen into Hong Kong for 500 Hong Kong Dollars (around Rs 3,000) a trip for the past 18 months.

There is no evidence that Singh's case has been the work of the syndicate, known as "Mukha airlines", the paper said.

PTI