Seizure of SAF armoured vehicles in HK began with Chinese law enforcement tip off: Factwire
Published: 12:23 PM, November 26, 2016
Updated: 4:17 PM, November 26, 2016
SINGAPORE — Mainland Chinese law enforcement organisations had tipped off Hong Kong customs officials about a shipment of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) armoured vehicles that arrived at the city's port earlier this week, leading to its eventual seizure, a new report has alleged.
Factwire, the Hong Kong news agency which broke the news of the seizure of the nine Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles, cited unnamed sources on Saturday saying that the shipment was discovered to have contained "undeclared military materials" when it stopped for a layover at Xiamen’s Haitian Container Terminals in Fujian, eastern China, after departing Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
"Before the vessel arrived at the Hong Kong port, Customs were informed by mainland law enforcement organisations that the vessel contained undeclared military materials, and did not have an approval notice," Factwire said in its latest report. "When it arrived in Hong Kong, the Customs searched the vessel and confiscated relevant military materials."
The news agency quoted a port worker saying that an entire team of officers was sent to search the vessel - APL QATAR 041 - when routine inspections typically involved just two to three officers.
"The officers apparently were specific about searching the vessel when it arrived at the terminal," Factwire said.
The report, however, did not name the mainland Chinese agencies which tipped off customs officials in Hong Kong, nor did it say how Chinese security organisations found out about the shipment of SAF armoured vehicles in Xiamen.
On Friday, Hong Kong’s Oriental Daily News published reports — complete with pictures and a video — of the vehicles being moved in the early hours under police escort to Hong Kong Customs’ cargo examination compound at the River Trade Terminal. This raised questions about whether they will be returned expeditiously, as Singapore has requested, even as a team from the SAF was expected to reach Hong Kong to “address the security of the equipment”, said Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef).
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...t-tip-factwire
The plot thickens . I wonder how many things our government is not telling us Singaporeans.