The National Immigration Agency (NIA) yesterday apologized for allowing a Chinese passenger to slip through immigration at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport last month and enter the country illegally.
The NIA Border Affairs Corps said in a statement that the mishap was the result of human error and measures have been taken to prevent it from happening ever again.
The intruder, identified only by his family name, Ke (柯), apparently jumped the gate of an unattended immigration counter on July 19 after arriving at Terminal 2 on a flight from Xiamen in China’s Fujian Province, border authorities said.
An investigation found that Ke, who has residency in the US, flew from Los Angeles to Qingdao in China’s Shandong Province and then to Xiamen before arriving in Taiwan.
Border authorities said that an alarm sounded when Ke jumped the gate, but officers on site did not check what happened, thinking that a child waiting in the immigration line must have tripped the alarm, as they were standing very close to the controlled area.
Ke has since been arrested with the help of his Taiwanese girlfriend and is waiting to be deported, local media have reported.
Ke came to Taiwan to see his girlfriend, who had been in hospital, the NIA said.
The girlfriend reported the incident to local police after she discovered that Ke had visited nightclubs during the first few days of his visit, the agency said.
The agency yesterday in a statement apologized and said that it would review its standard operating procedures, while also requiring its immigration officers to undergo further training.
Measures including additional patrols, reinforced counters and infrared intrusion alarms are planned and are to be implemented as earliest as possible, the statement said.
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