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Police Providing Medical and Social Care to Illegal Chinese National --- Chinese Association and White and Yellow Cross Refused to take responsibility.

sangwengli29112012Philipsburg:--- The Philipsburg Police Station now finds itself providing social and medical care to a Chinese national who has been residing on St. Maarten for the past 23 years. SMN News reporter met the ill man on a prison mattress on the floor inside the police station covered with a brown blanket, next to him are two bottles of water and a pack of pampers since the man is unable to walk or assist himself in any way.

Police Officers have to bathe and clean the man while they also have to physically feed him since he is not able to do anything for himself. While SMN News reporter was on the scene the man was asking the officers to change his pampers because it was filled and overflowing.

Some officers at the Police Station on Thursday told SMN News that Li was a patient at the St. Maarten Medical Center and just a few days ago the hospital felt it necessary to discharge him because according to the medical professionals he no longer needs medical care. The police officers said that Li who was working and residing at Yang Yang Supermarket on Sucker Garden Road fell down and he ended up at the SMMC for medical care but when he was discharged he asked someone to take him back to Yang Yang where he was residing. That night the owners of Yang Yang Supermarket and so called friends of Li placed him outside on the supermarket porch. Several persons alerted police of the situation and a patrol decided to take the man to the police station where he remains up to late Thursday. Even though the Minister of Justice Roland Duncan has removed the immigration department from the Police, an illegal immigrant that is in need of social and medical services ended up at the doorsteps of the police instead of the IND Building where immigration matters are being handled. It should be noted that Minister of Justice Roland Duncan also replaces the Minister of Health, Labour, and Social Welfare when he is off island.

Officers at the Philipsburg Police Station whose duty is to provide security and deal with criminals identified the man as Sang Weng Li (57 years old). Two of the officers Albert Thomas and Leroy Beau Beau Brooks told SMN News that the Li speaks Spanish and Chinese fluently and that he has been residing on the island for 23 years now without legal documents.

However, the past three days Li ended up on the floor of the police station when a patrol found him lying outside of Yang Yang Supermarket one night after being discharged from the St. Maarten Medical Center. Officer Thomas explained that 23 years ago Li entered St. Maarten with a falsified passport from the Dominican Republic and he was working at the Sang's Supermarket. In 1989 immigration officers arrested Li when he was caught working for Sang's illegally. Li spent nine months in the police holding cells before he was deported to China. However, when Li reached China the Chinese government deported him back to St. Maarten because Li was never in possession of Chinese passport. According to Officer Thomas, Li left China on a falsified Taiwanese Passport and went to the Dominican Republic where he lived and worked for five years. The Immigration department made a second attempt to deport Li to his country which they know to be China but there again they failed because he was deported back to St. Maarten from Amsterdam.

sangwenglicloseup29112012According to the officers who have been providing assistance to Li since he is now in their care, Li was robbed in August 2012 by some bandits who beat him badly, the incident landed Li in the St. Maarten Medical Center for one month. Li has an outstanding bill at SMMC which amounts to $23,000.00 and another $10,000.00 at St. Maarten Laboratory Services (SLS).

He was admitted about a month ago at SMMC when he fell down at Yang Yang Supermarket. According to the officers that know Li they said the man makes his living as gardener who would plant and sell lettuce and other vegetables to the supermarkets around the island. Li is also known to be working in several of the Chinese restaurant on St. Maarten when he is in good health, but today he needs care and assistance the Chinese community has chosen to distance themselves from him. The Police Officers said that police management team made contact with the Chinese Association and they have since disowned Li claiming he is from Taiwan and not China even though Li provided them with the name of his wife and children that still lives in China, the Chinese Association claims that they first have to establish his identity before they are able to provide any type of assistance to their countryman. Contact was also made with the White and Yellow Cross who also refused to take the medically ill man into their service claiming that they have no room. The officers said that the entire Council of Ministers are aware of the situation and everyone claims they are working on finding a solution for Li but in their opinion its taking too long. "What seems to be the biggest issue here is that everybody is more concerned about who will pay for their services and it's not about the risk and health conditions of a human being."

In an invited comment, Chief of Police Peter de Witte said he already submitted a request to the Minister of Justice to find a solution for Li. De Witte said Li is not a criminal he is an illegal resident and the police is not responsible for immigration matters. De Witte said he also asked the Minister of Justice to see if the Council of Ministers can find a solution to provide some kind of social care for the man who has a medical condition and needs assistance.

Currently the Minister of Health Cornelius de Weever is off island while his replacement Minister of Justice Roland Duncan could not be reached by telephone for a comment on Thursday.

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