Court hear that Chinese child was brought to Ireland by 'traffickers'

A Vietnamese unaccompanied minor was brought to Ireland by Chinese human traffickers for illegal labour, the Children’s Court heard today.

The teenage boy, believed to be aged 16, is in Ireland without parents and has no passport.

He has been on remand in St Patrick’s Institution since June 3 following his arrest for a burglary at Galtimore Road, in Drimnagh, Dublin, on June 2 and failing to produce identity documents within seven days of arriving in the State, under the Immigration Act.

Judge Clare Leonard heard yesterday that there was a sustained Garda objection to bail over the teenager’s so far unproved identity, lack of address and fears that if bailed he would not turn up for his next court appearance.

Samples of his fingerprints have been sent to the Vietnamese embassy in London in the hope it can shed light on his identity.

Defence solicitor Sarah Molloy pleaded for bail saying the teenager, if released, would be taken into the care of the Health Service Executive’s unaccompanied minors unit.

She said representatives from Ruhama a voluntary agencies which works with people trafficked to Ireland for sexual exploitation, had met the teen in custody.

They concluded that he was trafficked to Ireland “specifically for illegal labour.”

The court has heard he left Vietnam with his parents in early childhood; travelled to Russia and several other European states before arriving in Ireland, in April, after “money changed hands” with an “agent.”

Interpol has been contacted to find out if he is on its missing children’s list but that enquiry has “turned up blank,”

Ms Molloy said today that the boy was brought here by Chinese nationals who had previously moved him around Europe to work illegally.

She also submitted that the teenager’s birth may not have been registered in Vietnam and the Garda enquiries may not lead to a verification of his identity. As a result, she submitted, “he could remain in custody for six months unable to prove his identity.”

Ms Molloy also re-iterated that the boy’s silence over how he came to be in Ireland was a result of being in fear and it is believed he was “a victim of human trafficking.”

She said the teen would be denying the burglary charge. The court heard that the file on the case had not yet been sent to the DPP due to complications over a witness statement.

Judge Leonard further remanded the defendant in custody to appear again next week. She said gardai should expedite efforts to obtain the DPP’s directions on the two charges.

The defendant who was dressed in a grey hooded top, blue jeans and runners, did not speak during the proceedings which were translated by an interpreter.

Last week a group of people arrived at the courthouse claiming to be the boy’s family. However, they left immediately when gardai tried to question them about their relationship to the boy. And the court has heard that a Garda station in Dublin has been receiving suspicious phone calls from people making enquiries about the boy.