Arson offender granted right of abode

Thirteen years ago, a group of mainland Chinese seeking the right of abode in Hong Kong committed arson in the Immigration Tower in Wanchai, causing two deaths and 44 injuries.  Senior immigration officer Leung Kam-kwong was killed in the line of duty. 

The principal offender, Shi Junlong(施君龍), has recently been granted a one-way permit. At time of conviction, Shi had said remorselessly, ‘This is a tragedy created by the Immigration Department.’

Shi, imprisoned for manslaughter in Hong Kong, has even become the director of the Family Reunion Association, specifically assisting Mainland Chinese with family reunification immigration.

On 2nd August 2000, 30 right-of-abode seekers staged a protest inside the waiting room on the 13th floor of the Immigration Tower, pleading for a meeting with the director of the Immigration Department. They had refused to leave, and when the staff received an order to disperse the crowd, a protester splashed paint thinner from a water bottle and a fire broke out during chaos, leading to 40 injuries.

The senior immigration officer suffered from severe burns and died 9 days later. One protestor, Lin Xiaoxing, also died of severe burns. Shi received an 8-year prison sentence for the manslaughter. Since completing his prison sentence in 2005, he was extradited to China.