Cathay Pacific cleared — Home Affairs was the real culprit
The court, in a drawn-out case in which minors were incorrectly ordered back to Hong Kong from ORT, has cleared the airline saying the department was at fault
If a court order came to you via e-mail or phone — would you be reluctant to comply? Cathay Pacific Airways was‚ and found itself on the wrong side of the law‚ following an unfortunate game of broken telephone‚ which led to the incorrect deportation of two minors and their 19-year-old sibling. However, this week, the Supreme Court of Appeal found that the scales of justice had not been balanced fairly and cleared the airline’s name. Hai Lin and Ruihong Weng‚ who are Chinese citizens‚ and their three children, were granted permanent South African residency status in 2008. On July 25 2016, when the children landed at OR Tambo International Airport from a trip to China‚ two of them were allegedly not on the Department of Home Affairs’ books. The children‚ aged 15 and 14‚ were refused entry into the country and ordered back to Hong Kong with their older sibling‚ whose care they were under. Cathay Pacific were to place the family on the next flight back to Hong Kong, the following day at...
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