Macau triad boss ordered deported from Canada

OTTAWA, Province of Ontario (AFP) - The boss of Macau's Shui Fong triad has been ordered deported from Canada, it was announced on Wednesday.

Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board ruled last week that Lai Tong Sang should never have been allowed into this country nearly 17 years ago and ordered his removal, citing his ties to organized crime. The order was only publicized now.

Lai's lawyer Peter Chapman told local media, however, that the decision will be appealed.

The board in its ruling said that Canadian officials had failed to properly check his background when admitting Lai into the country, and found compelling evidence of his crime links and involvement in a 1990s deadly turf war between Shui Fong, also known as Wo On Lok, and rival 14K triad.

A year after arriving in Vancouver in westernmost Canada in October 1996, Lai's home was peppered with bullets in a drive-by shooting, which Canadian police wiretaps showed was ordered by 14K leader "Chipped Tooth" Kui.

Police gave evidence at Lai's immigration hearing in February that a C$1 million (S$1.23 million) contract had been taken out on his life.

All the while, the board heard, Lai refused to cooperate with Canadian police, fearing it would expose his criminal gang ties.

Lai was also taped receiving briefings from overseas lieutenants "about the progress of the gang war" for control of Macau's lucrative casino industry before China's takeover of the territory from Portugal.

Lai in his defence chalked it all up to hearsay.

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