Immigration and refugee board orders deportation of alleged triad boss

VANCOUVER – The Immigration and Refuggee Board has ordered an accused triad kingpin from Macau to leave Canada, but his wife and three kids get to stay.

Adjudicator Geoff Rempel has concluded that Lai Tong Sang, who moved to Vancouver in 1996 under a permanent resident visa, is part of the Shui Fung gang and is therefore inadmissible according to Canada’s immigration laws.

While Lai has argued that media stories about him being a gang member are biased, Rempel says he based his decision on police documents, wiretapped conversations and various publications that appear to be reliable.

Rempel has also dismissed Lai’s argument that a finding of inadmissibility would violate his rights to liberty or security because, as a non-citizen, Lai does not have an unqualified right to enter or stay in Canada.

The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has also alleged that Lai deliberately misrepresented himself as the owner of two companies in Macau when he applied for permanent residency, but Rempel says Lai has provided documents and tax receipts confirming he was who he said he was.

Rempel’s decision comes months after a three-day admissibility hearing in March, where immigration officials sought to have Lai removed from the country.