China demands 'severe punishment' over 39 UK truck deaths as post-mortems begin

By Peter Nicholls

 

Police officers inspect a drain at the scene where bodies were discovered in a lorry container, in Grays, Essex, Britain October 24, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

 

GRAYS, England (Reuters) - China called on Britain on Friday to seek “severe punishment” for those involved in the deaths of 39 people, believed to be Chinese nationals, found in a truck container near London, while British police quizzed the driver on suspicion of murder.

 

Post-mortem examinations of 11 of the deceased began as police and forensic experts sought to identify the dead, how they had died and who was involved in the suspected human trafficking ring.

 

Detectives were continuing to quiz the 25-year-old truck driver from Northern Ireland who was arrested after the grim discovery of the bodies in the back of his refrigerated truck on an industrial estate near London in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

 

He has not been formally identified but a source familiar with the investigation named him as Mo Robinson from the Portadown area of the British province. Detectives will decide later whether to charge him with an offence, release him or ask a court for more time to quiz him.

 

Late on Thursday, British authorities moved 11 of the victims - 31 men and eight women - to a hospital mortuary from a secure location at docks near to the industrial estate in Grays about 20 miles (30 km) east of London where the bodies were found.

 

Police have said the process of identifying those who died would take some time while autopsies were carried out to determine how exactly they died.

 

“This is the largest investigation of its kind Essex Police has ever had to conduct and it is likely to take some considerable time to come to a conclusion,” Essex Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said.

 

His force has said their priority was ensuring respect and compassion for the victims.

 

The Chinese Embassy in London said it had sent a team to Essex, and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said police had not yet been able to verify the nationalities of the deceased.

 

“We hope that the British side can as soon as possible confirm and verify the identities of the victims, ascertain what happened and severely punish criminals involved in the case,” she told a daily news briefing.

 

For years, illegal immigrants have attempted to reach Britain stowed away in trucks, often from the European mainland. In 2000, 58 Chinese were found dead in a tomato truck at the port of Dover.

 

China’s Global Times, which is published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said in a Friday editorial that Britain should bear some responsibility for the deaths.

 

“It is clear that Britain and relevant European countries have not fulfilled their responsibility to protect these people from such a death,” the widely read tabloid said.

 

It added that Britain appeared not to have learned its lesson from the Dover incident two decades ago.

 

“Could the British and European people ask themselves why they have not been able to avoid a similar tragedy ... Did they take all the serious remedial action that they could have?” it said.

 

TRUCK’S MOVEMENTS

 

The focus of the police investigation is on the movement of the trailer prior to its arrival at Purfleet docks near Grays little more than an hour before the bodies were found and who was behind the suspected human trafficking.

 

Irish company Global Trailer Rentals said it owned the trailer and had rented it out on Oct. 15. The firm said it was unaware of what it was to be used for.

 

The refrigeration unit had traveled to Britain from Zeebrugge in Belgium and the town’s chairman, Dirk de Fauw, said he believed the victims died in the trailer before it arrived there.

 

The Times newspaper reported that GPS data showed the container had arrived at the Belgian port at 2.49 p.m. local time on Tuesday before later making the 10-hour trip to Britain.

 

Police said the cab unit of the truck was driven over from Dublin on Sunday, entering Britain in North Wales. It picked up the trailer in Purfleet shortly after midnight on Wednesday.

 

The National Crime Agency, which targets serious and organized crime, said it was helping the investigation and working urgently to identify any gangs involved.

 

The head of the Road Haulage Association said traffickers were “upping their game” and closer cooperation with European nations was needed, although that may be complicated by Britain’s potential exit from the European Union.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-10-25

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RIP

i like that the Chinese are blaming the Brits, who had nothing to do with the journey the container had made prior to its arrival in Zeebrugge

17 minutes ago, steve187 said:

RIP

i like that the Chinese are blaming the Brits, who had nothing to do with the journey the container had made prior to its arrival in Zeebrugge

Indeed, the trailer was owned and rented out by an Irish company, and entered the UK from Belgium; the tractor unit was registered in Bulgaria, and entered the UK from Dublin before picking up the trailer, - yet it is the Brits fault!

Yes, I agree with Jag but feel its even more stupid. 39 Chinese national are desperate enough to leave China and get to Britain to pay some operators for an ILLEGAL entry. They desperately wanted to stay hidden, not to be found and not to be caught. Then they blame the country that they were found in a matter of hours after arrival and probably when they were already dead. Perhaps the Chinese need a reminder that their behaviour in Xinjiang and Tibet has been a bit myopic.

1 hour ago, steve187 said:

RIP

i like that the Chinese are blaming the Brits, who had nothing to do with the journey the container had made prior to its arrival in Zeebrugge

 

47 minutes ago, JAG said:

Indeed, the trailer was owned and rented out by an Irish company, and entered the UK from Belgium; the tractor unit was registered in Bulgaria, and entered the UK from Dublin before picking up the trailer, - yet it is the Brits fault!

It's clearly the fault of the Chinese.

 

China’s Global Times ... said in a Friday editorial that Britain should bear some responsibility for the deaths.

 

“Could the British and European people ask themselves why they have not been able to avoid a similar tragedy ... Did they take all the serious remedial action that they could have?” it said.

 

A similar tragedy could be easily avoided, where Chinese citizens are concerned, by making the country a place that people such as these don't want to risk their lives to leave with  the help of people traffickers. The place is rich enough, judging by the amount of cash it throws around the world to buy influence, to give ALL its people an improved lifestyle.

 

Nothing that happens in this world is ever remotely attributable to the actions of the Chinese, is it!

 

1 hour ago, steve187 said:

RIP

i like that the Chinese are blaming the Brits, who had nothing to do with the journey the container had made prior to its arrival in Zeebrugge

I do not read anywhere that the Chinese are 'blaming the Brits'. They said:

 

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

Britain should bear some responsibility for the deaths.

And I agree with them. It is very clear that our sea ports are, quite simply, too porous. If the people traffickers knew that there was a very high risk of these unfortunate victims being discovered at point of entry, they would be less likely to take these risks.

 

And this is not the first time, is it! Lessons really do need to be learned.

I think it hypocrisy of the highest order that China suggest Britain should bear some responsibility for the deaths... Why were these poor souls trying to leave China in the first place? who is responsible for them being so disenfranchised in their homelands they had no option but to illegally flee?

 

It is disgusting that this happened and yes the British Police forces should and will be doing everything in their power to bring the criminals to justice. But the political hypocrisy of a country who's human rights record enters the realms of 'atrocity' is in no position to take the moral high ground. 

 

 

Edited October 25, 20196 yr by richard_smith237

7 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

I do not read anywhere that the Chinese are 'blaming the Brits'. They said:

 

And I agree with them. It is very clear that our sea ports are, quite simply, too porous. If the people traffickers knew that there was a very high risk of these unfortunate victims being discovered at point of entry, they would be less likely to take these risks.

 

And this is not the first time, is it! Lessons really do need to be learned.

They wouldn't care - they get paid before hand and continue to take every risk possible...

 

Why are these poor souls trying to leave their country in the first place? 

 

We don't see 'containers' of British people trying to get into other countries? Why is that? could it be because the UK's human rights standards are much higher?

 

 

China is becoming way too powerful, its frightening that it can get away with such internal human rights atrocities, slave labor, incredibly low wages (yes Western companies take advantage of this too), and then undersell everyone globally - they have gained too much power and can now dictate such hypocritical sentiment while looking Western Governments straight in the eye... 

 

 

 

26 minutes ago, MartinL said:

 

It's clearly the fault of the Chinese.

 

China’s Global Times ... said in a Friday editorial that Britain should bear some responsibility for the deaths.

 

“Could the British and European people ask themselves why they have not been able to avoid a similar tragedy ... Did they take all the serious remedial action that they could have?” it said.

 

A similar tragedy could be easily avoided, where Chinese citizens are concerned, by making the country a place that people such as these don't want to risk their lives to leave with  the help of people traffickers. The place is rich enough, judging by the amount of cash it throws around the world to buy influence, to give ALL its people an improved lifestyle.

 

Nothing that happens in this world is ever remotely attributable to the actions of the Chinese, is it!

 

Or Thai's

A post containing an ethnic slur toward Chinese people has been removed. 

Highly hypocritical of the Chinese, they should at least have the decency to shut up.

they could have been dead prior to reaching the UK (the autopsies would prove that), wouldn't the country where they died hold the ultimate responsibility of investigation? 

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

I do not read anywhere that the Chinese are 'blaming the Brits'. They said:

 

And I agree with them. It is very clear that our sea ports are, quite simply, too porous. If the people traffickers knew that there was a very high risk of these unfortunate victims being discovered at point of entry, they would be less likely to take these risks.

 

And this is not the first time, is it! Lessons really do need to be learned.

why Britain should bear some responsibility for the deaths, is beyond me. what about all the countries with their porous borders they passed through on the way to an island.

No offence to those who lost their lives but I question..... What person would be stupid or desperate enough to climb into a refrigerated truck in the first place?

Seems Chinese have the same mentality as Thais. Blame the others for my wrongdoing.

Chins demands???

Physician heal thyself.

59 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

No offence to those who lost their lives but I question..... What person would be stupid or desperate enough to climb into a refrigerated truck in the first place?

Someone from abject poverty that has paid upwards of $10,000 to secure a better future to support their families and loved ones. Coming from a rich western democracy that shelters us from cradle to grave we can't even imagine what these poor souls living conditions were like at home. Stop the trafficking at source, target the traffickers with severe punishments...easily done with undercover operations but no government seems interested

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“It is clear that Britain and relevant European countries have not fulfilled their responsibility to protect these people from such a death,”

It is even clearer that China still has not fulfilled its responsibility to its own nationals to provide them with a good life and future, otherwise they would not try to escape in such a way, would they...

On BBC News this morning, it appears that some of the victims were Vietnamese.

A couple of questions. 

WHO delivered the container to Zeebrugge and booked it onto the ferry?

What else was in the container?

The driver said he discovered the bodies when he went to get paperwork from INSIDE the container?

How can the Irish driver be charged with murder if he was not there?

 

Just me pondering.

17 hours ago, steve187 said:

RIP

i like that the Chinese are blaming the Brits, who had nothing to do with the journey the container had made prior to its arrival in Zeebrugge

Plus China should look at why there citizens would want to escape such a wonderful homeland

How about severe punishment for the Politburo billionaires involved in human trafficking, and organ harvesting? Perhaps some of them were directly responsible for these 39 people being put into that position to begin with. Always playing the deflection game. 

14 hours ago, baansgr said:

Someone from abject poverty that has paid upwards of $10,000 to secure a better future to support their families and loved ones. Coming from a rich western democracy that shelters us from cradle to grave we can't even imagine what these poor souls living conditions were like at home. Stop the trafficking at source, target the traffickers with severe punishments...easily done with undercover operations but no government seems interested

 

And just exactly how are these people living in abject poverty yet paying upwards of $10k each  ? plus how do they know its that price if they are all dead ? Come on think for a second who is telling us this ?  just the media. There is far more going on behind the scenes, many were Vietnamese and probably other nationalities. Why is China making stupid threats and noises to the UK when information is suggesting they were at least 12 hrs dead before being found, meaning they were dead in the EU territory ? 

 

One route for eg from Africa is run by NGOS and boats traffic them all the time, all pay or are sponsored supposedly upwards of $5k, not bad for an African in abject poverty. 

 

The trafficking industry is worth billions and the logistics of such operations is complicated and costs huge sums to set up and maintain, pay offs etc yet no one ever gets exposed.... NGOs are neck deep as are many other foundations and businesses and charities.. This does not go on without high up knowledge and or permission.

 

What China is doing to its minority populations re organ harvesting of hundreds of thousands and internment, correction camps of millions for simply not being Han is beyond despicable yet there it is making stupid claims and demands over a few "Chinese". Its false outrage, misdirection and is trying to control the narrative. Why ? China is neck deep in it as are many other nations, do some digging but dont expect to find much in Reuters, the Chinese media  or the BBC etc.

 

Methinks the majority of organised traffickers ARE the governments and those behind and above them.  

 

Edited October 26, 20196 yr by englishoak

Apparently they were Vietnamese, their journey to the UK started in China.

 

There is an absolutely heartbreaking report in The Times today which includes the text messages sent by a girl to her mother as she realised that she was going to die. It may go some way to explaining why some people are so desperate as to take these risks. I'm afraid it brought tears to my eyes, and I am (I think) a fairly robust character.

 

Instead of playing the international blame game all countries, agencies and communities everywhere should be working together to stamp out this foul trade.

Edited October 26, 20196 yr by JAG

And now the news is breaking out that, they were Vietnamese.

Look, Vietnamese or Chinese, they come into Britain because they are 'economic migrants'. Notice how when a bunch of Chinese are trying to enter England illegally, that's called "trying to escape from the human rights abuse in Tibet and Xinjiang" .   It's a ridiculous thing to say. The Chinese turning up in Britain are Han Chinese, they're not a bunch of Tibetans or Muslims. They work in the local Chinese Take-away or fish and chip shop.


And them Vietnamese trying to get into Britain. Political freedom, sexual freedom, religious freedom, whatever freedom, Vietnam is similar to China. Vietnam does not have democratic elections. Them Vietnamese trying to get out of Vietnam, they're doing it because they want a job that gives them more money. The attitude of the Vietnamese trying to get into Britain, is the same as the Chinese trying to get into Britain.

By the way, I reckon them Vietnamese and Chinese trying to enter Britain, let most of them in.




And above is a photo of one of the dead people. Who on earth wants to say "No, we don't want this woman in Britain" ??  Her name is Pham Thi Tra . A Vietnamese woman.

Edited October 26, 20196 yr by tonbridgebrit

On 10/25/2019 at 12:15 PM, snoop1130 said:

“We hope that the British side can as soon as possible confirm and verify the identities of the victims, ascertain what happened and severely punish criminals involved in the case,” she told a daily news briefing.

 

That shouldn't be so hard, they can just use the face recognition system...

Uighurs????????‍♂️????????

20 hours ago, CLS said:

Seems Chinese have the same mentality as Thais. Blame the others for my wrongdoing.

Pretty much a universal ailment. Can't recall the last time I witnessed any 

official accepting responsibility for an error, unless forced to do so.

On 10/25/2019 at 5:15 PM, snoop1130 said:

“We hope that the British side can as soon as possible confirm and verify the identities of the victims, ascertain what happened and severely punish criminals involved in the case,” she told a daily news briefing.

Criminals = people performing criminal acts. Figure it out, China.

The cynical opportunism of the Chinese Dictatorship beggars belief. The victims were Vietnamese! They were to be employed in British Marijuana farms and nail salons.

Chinese immigrants are not necessarily poor or oppressed, often just looking for opportunities to make more money and/or recycling Chinese funds.

From what I know, illegal channels for people and funds are not heavily prosecuted in China.