In a surprising incident at Shannon Airport, two Chinese persons were uncovered sheltered in the lavatories on Tuesday morning, subsequentially appearing before a regional court. They had initially boarded a Ryanair flight in Spain and landed in Ireland without displaying any passports.
The individuals, Lin Delin, 30, and Li Hu, 36, who have no established residences, confessed to entering the country without the appropriate paperwork, including a legally accepted passport, countering the country’s Immigration Act of 2004. The illegal entry occurred at Shannon Airport on the 10th of September.
Det Garda Ciaran Keoghan testified to the Ennis District Court on Wednesday about discovering the pair concealed in the men’s and women’s lavatories in the airport’s arrivals section, sometime after 2 am on Tuesday. The two had just disembarked from a Ryanair flight that landed from Girona, Spain.
Judge Gabbett asserted that the pair had possessed adequate documents for boarding the aircraft, which then ‘vanished.’ Tara Godfrey, representing the defendants, described the duo as ‘extremely fearful’. Godfrey added on saying, “They have no passports and they seem to me to be in quite a state of fear and I would request the court to consider them kindly.”
Since landing in Ireland, these individuals have, in essence, ‘become prisoners of the Irish,’ she indicated. From the confines of the airport to detention at Shannon Garda station and finally at Limerick Prison, they have been continually held under close scrutiny.
Both spent the night in Limerick Prison following a remand sanctioned by Judge Gabbett at Kilrush District Court on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they were transported to the Ennis courthouse in shackles.
Ms Godfrey revealed their life conditions back in their homeland to be harshly grim, pushing them to seek a better existence here. She further stated, “they have not raised any other major concerns except arriving without a passport.”
Judge Gabbett articulated his deep reluctance to imprison individuals apparently bearing no past offenses. He viewed them as “innocents overseas in need of support, aid, and care from us.”
Detective Garda Keoghan stated that the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) would cater to their shelter needs on Wednesday night.
Judge Gabbett expressed his hope that the individuals had been served lunch during their time under the Irish Prison Service’s supervision, and was informed that their meal had been from McDonald’s. “They evidently won’t be leaving on an empty stomach,” observed the judge. He then handed down a two-month suspended sentence to each man.