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UPDATE: Customs Commissioner Wade Smith confirms airport incident
This is according to a press statement released this afternoon October 28, 2013. “A full investigation into this incident has been launched by BVI Customs and Immigration Departments,” said Commissioner of Customs (VI) Mr Wade Smith in the release.
He further stated that the officer is on leave while investigations are ongoing.
According to Mr Smith, officers follow strict guidelines in accordance with the laws of the Virgin Islands and international standards.
“When the investigation is completed and findings are concluded, the appropriate actions will be taken,” he said in the release.
See previous article posted October 28, 2013:
South Korean TV reporter alleges of being assaulted by VI Customs Officer
-Premier Smith said the allegations are being seriously investigated; no formal report to RVIPF known
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – A video allegedly of a South Korean reporter being verbally and physically assaulted by a Customs Officer at the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport on Thursday October 24, 2013 is creating quite a stir after it was posted on the internet.
June-Young Lee, who claims to work for the South Korea’s Channel A, alleges he was repeatedly punched in the neck and choked by a Customs Officer while at the airport. It is alleged that the incident occurred as Mr June-Young was attempting to use a cell phone while in one of the washrooms at the airport.
The short video of 3 minutes 24 seconds starts out with a man being treated with what appears to be abrasions to the left side of the neck. After 35 seconds the video clip switches to show a closed door and a voice is heard asking, "Excuse me, Who are you?" The person apparently on the other side of the door responds "BVI Customs and I ain't going to be here all day either".
After about 10 seconds the man apparently doing the recording asks if BVI Customs always treat their "foreigners" that way. The alleged Customs Officer says he has been trying to get into the restroom for about 15 minutes and tells the man he has a decision to make.
The man tells the alleged officer to "hold one second". However, after a few seconds the man asks if there is a problem and the officer says he has already told the man what he wanted to tell him. "I need to get into the restroom."
The man then asks the officer why he isn't using the other washroom and the officer says he wants to use the one the man is in. "It dosen't make sense," the man said.
The video seems to have been cut and joined so it is unclear how long after the man remained in the washroom but the clip jumps to a point where the alleged officer says he is not going to ask the man again to exit the washroom or he may have to put him under arrest.
The man does not exit immediately but keeps asking the reason he may be arrested. He continues to ask when the door opens and the officer tells him to go in a particular direction. There were some exchanges of words and then there seems to be a struggle while the officer shouts if the man wants to be arrested. The man, who then shouts he is a reporter from Korea, continues to ask the officer "What are you doing?" and then begins to scream for help.
It appears that the man is then subdued after which the video clip ends.
The man and colleague were denied entry into the territory.
According to information received by this news site, June-Young and his was peer/co-worker Kibum Kim were attempting to enter the territory under the pretext to vacation with the intention to do some investigations on the Financial Services of the VI.
Contacted yesterday afternoon October 27, 2013, Premier and Minister of Finance Dr D. Orlando Smith told Virgin Islands News Online that he has been informed of the matter and said it is being investigated very seriously by HM Customs, the Immigration Department and the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF).
“It is being investigated very seriously, very seriously it’s being investigated by the Chief Immigrations Officer and the Police,” Premier Smith said.
Asked about the potential damage the alleged incident could have on the tourism sector, Dr Smith said, “At this stage anything can have a serious effect on tourism but it is how we go about handling it.”
Valiant efforts to reach Chief Immigrations Officer (Ag) Mr Guy Hill and Customs Commissioner Wade Smith prove futile.
On the other hand, contact was made with Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF)Mr Alwin James. He said the most he knew of this incident was what he had read online and that to the best of his knowledge there were no formal reports made to the RVIPF.
According to DCOP James and Sergeant Carl Mason, who also has public relations responsibilities, the Immigration and Customs Departments have the authority to conduct preliminary and other investigations independent of the RVIPF.
Attempts to get a comment from Director of Tourism Ms Sharon Flax-Mars for her views on the likely effect the allegation can have on the tourism industry prove futile.
This most recent allegation has fallen on the heels of several other calls for investigations into the alleged unsavory behaviour of Customs and Immigration officers at the various ports of entry in the VI.
Less than a month ago a prominent Leader of the New Life Baptist Church and VIslander, Bishop John I. Cline was moved to take complaints to the highest level of the Government consequent of alleged mis-conduct and rude handling of visitors to the territory.
This followed complaints by several persons who were entering the territory to attend a Conference.
The problem is said not to be an isolated one as complaints have allegedly come in a triangle- Sophers Hole/West End, Road Town and at the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport.
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The eldest son of South Korea’s former President Chun Doo-hwan obtained an offshore company in the Caribbean in 2004 amid a tax evasion probe into his younger brother’s alleged involvement with their father’s bribery-fed slush fund.
Prosecutors are aggressively seeking the ex-president’s hidden assets in the face of an approaching statute of limitations deadline for his unpaid fine of 167.2 billion won ($149.3 million).
Chun Jae-kook, the oldest child of the former military strongman, became a director and shareholder of a secret company in the British Virgin Islands with the help of a law firm and an offshore services provider in Singapore, according to records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and reviewed by the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism (KCIJ), also known as Newstapa.
Chun Jae-kook, CEO of the country’s major publishing house, Sigongsa, did not respond directly to requests for comment for this story.
He released a statement saying that his offshore company had nothing to do with his father and that it was not created for evading taxes or concealing assets. He explained that his involvement in offshore came about as he moved the money he had for studying and living in the United States to Singapore when he returned to South Korea in 1989.
“I have never taken assets out of the country, and am currently holding no assets abroad,” he said.
Dictator’s Ill-gotten Wealth
Chun Jae-kook’s 2004 acquisition of the offshore company came months after his younger brother, Chun Jae-yong, was arrested on charges of evading taxes on 16.7 billion won, money that the younger Chun said he inherited from his maternal grandfather.
A court ruled that at least 7.3 billion won of the money came from his father’s slush fund.
Chun Doo-hwan ruled the country from 1980 to 1988 after seizing power through a military coup in 1979. He was convicted in 1997 of amassing a huge slush fund of hundreds of billions of won in bribes funneled to him by businessmen during his presidency.
The former president was also convicted of charges stemming from the 1979 mutiny and a bloody crackdown in the southern city of Gwangju in May 1980, in which hundreds of pro-democracy protesters were massacred by special forces.
Chun Doo-hwan was initially sentenced to death in 1996 for mutiny and treason for staging the 1979 coup but was later pardoned.
Chun Jae-kook, the eldest son, has faced suspicions that he, like his younger brother, may have been associated with the management of his father’s slush fund, but no evidence has been found linking him to the father’s concealed assets.
Unpaid fines
In 1997, the former president was ordered to repay 220 billion won of the ill-gotten gains he was found to have amassed while in office.
He has paid only a quarter of the total. He still owes 167.2 billion won in outstanding fines.
Chun Doo-hwan told a court hearing in 2003 that he had only 290,000 won in savings, claiming that he was unable to pay the rest of the fine.
His children’s assets, meanwhile, are estimated to be some 200 billion won, and the father has come under fierce public criticism for a lavish lifestyle that includes trips to prestigious golf resorts. He also donated more than 1,000 million won to the Korea Military Academy, his alma mater.
Prosecutors have come under increasing public pressure to track down Chun Doo-hwan’s wealth before the statute of limitations in his case expires in October. They recently launched a special task force to step up their investigation. The deadline in the case can be extended if prosecutors uncover traces of the hidden assets.
Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook encouraged the newly-established team to use “every possible means” to locate the ex-president’s illegally accumulated fortune.
Also with regards to the ex-Korean President's son using a BVI company to funnel money. Think about it. An international business company is a corporate vehicle that allows more flexibility and easy when doin cross-border transactions. The company was used to do just that, they opened bank accounts in the name of the company, most likely in some place in Europe, probably even France and stashed the money there. Because they used an offshore company, it becomes easier to track some of the money. Without the registration of that company the money could be stashed in multiple names of people and scattered across the gold. But because of the offshore company, there is a paper trail that can be on covered. Furthermore this information would not be provided to a researching journalist on the fly as this is a currently ongoing case in a legitimate court of law. Korean law enforcement can easily contact law enforcement and relevant authorities in the BVI to obtain whatever information they need to effectively conduct their court proceedings/prosecutions on this matter.
The case in point is that the customs officer was wrong. But the south-korean journalist was ALSO wrong!
What a moron, SMDH. Don't you even travel???
http://bvinews.com/bvi/police-v-customs-prosecution-wants-customs-official-to-testify/
We do not care one whit about your country`s history, politics or politicians. Don`t confuse us with the US, your country`s issues are none of our business, we have troubles of our own. But you better don`t try to come here and form the fool again. I am glad this officer dealt you some blows for your insolence. He is a national hero. I guess you thought the BVIslanders were just some dumb black folks who would let you come and pull down our financial services sector in your quest to influence Korean politics. Try that non-compliance crap in your Korea and see when next you are seen or heard from.
If this is a plot to discredit the BVI, then this journalist must have been working closely with the visitors who came to see Bishop Cline, the sales manager of a large boat building company who was denied for no better reason than the fact that he was from Columbia and many more cases or authority overstep.....
This was a set up and he provoked the officer as well, shame on you........
The BVI Customs need to have some kind of seminar in regards to customer service, there are days their attitude sucks and other days it's not so bad. It should be great at all times, don't let you personal problems affect you decisions at the work place...
I don't condone violence but this video is unfair. Why was it cut and pasted? Obviously they only want to show their side of the issue. They LIED to our officers about what they came here for. They're coming here to mess with our bread and butter and we here feeling sorry for them? OF course there will be backlash once it goes viral but we need to stand firm and support our officers because people shouldn't be given free reign to come in here doing bull$%^&. In any other country he would've left in a bag or a body cast!!! In BVI people want to come and do as they please and we should just accept it. I don't condone the officer roughing him up like that but without the full video and full details it's not fair to judge. Suppose these guys got into our Territory with all their equipment and carried out their so called investigations. Do we know what effect that would have on our industry? We are under attack and need to defend ourselves. We are too laid back here, this is no joke. We should not take these things lightly. We have an industry that they envy and seems like they want to do anything to bring us down. Hope this is a lesson to others planning similar nonsense.
Even if this guy came here with an agenda, we failed big time... He proved his point, Officer G**** allegedly went into that bathroom with an agenda and intention to "fight" this man... his reasoning for asking him out of the bathroom was not that he was in an unauthorized area, or was required to be somewhere else by law, the officer stated and I quote "I want to use that bathroom", "I will put you under arrest for obstruction of the bathroom".. that’s nonsense. Then as the guy left the bathroom, allegedly he pushed him, why? cause he is the "big bad custom officer", stuppes, if he was in the US I agree, it would not have gotten this far, because they are trained to be professional and handle situations... this guy came here to record ill treatment of tourist / foreigners and prove BVI treats ppl like crap when they think no one is looking, and he was right. I hope assault charges are filed as well against the officer.
People who should never be at the front line are the ones there to deal with our visitors. That one custom officer in particular should never be at the frontline.
SHAME ON YOU MR DG. YOUR SONS MUST BE ASHAME OF YOU. YOU NEED TO GO TO ANGER MANAGEMENT CLASSES. YOU AGAIN?
this was a set up to be honest he aint wipe nor flush jus being a pess. but my opinion i think c***e paid him to come here jus to prove a point. too much demons in society our country goin backwards not forward
The Tourist Board should also be addressing the potential damage caused rather than hiding under the desk with all the other heads of departments.
dude should change his name to mean joe gr**n
Where in the world do you know a visitor to talk to authority like that? Next time you take a trip respond to customs and immigration the way he did and let me know how that works for you (especially in the U.S).
P.S. the video was edited for a reason don't you think?
As far as punishment for the officer goes I think 3 months suspension will suffice.
who is he I hope is not the shorty one name Br**o
This tape is obviously edited. This man did not show when he allegedly assaulted both Customs and Immigration Officials.
Iv@n c>>>> complaints were unfounded but that doesnt get reported. Hmmm
ASAP; you are simply an "$$ and you need to travel; there are signs posted no cell phone/no cameras...when you go to the USVI that is one of the first warnings that you will see as you enter the customs/immigration holding area.....why dont you leave here and use your cell pone/camera while in customs/immigartion area..why or what was this man hiding in our bathrooms....that is suspicious and the law enforcement officer had all right to question the man.....most airport in this world do NOT allow pictures to be taken; its security risk...just for your information ASAP sorry not ASAP(just an "$$!!!!)
Belongers, residents, visitors, and Korean Journalists.
tola; i agree with you that c***e is full of him-self; his friends should just walking right in and he fully well know when he leave this BVI that he is subjected to rule and regulation of the other country but because he name c***e we must bend all the rules for him.....we did not hear from the same C***E on the same-sex-matter; allowing gays to get maried in our BVI....
Guess it will not be too long before all our tourists and business associates go elsewhere if the rules here are that BVIslanders can do what they want to whoever they want whenever they want. Who would want to do business or visit such a lawless backward place.
With those attictudes we are doomed
I hear ya BuzzBvi, I understand what you're saying and it certainly shouldn't be the case that law enforcement in the BVI simply go around beating up vistors. I believe that this situation was handled poorly by the officer. The alleged brute force was over the top. However, how do you deal with someone that is clearly detained, breaking customs laws and regulations by using their cell phone, which i'm surprised wasn't taken from them in the get go but they breaking the law nonetheless, locks themself in the bathroom and puts up a resistance when asked to come out? Most visitors that are truly just visitors realizing that they don't have the necessary permit and that they lied on their government form would simply comply. But this reporter, strategically took to aggravating the officer, (though the officer was silly to take him on), but he aggravated him nonetheless when he was already in the wrong. How do you do with persons that are defiant to requests by legal authorities?
Customs and Immigration need to have a trainer who ensure officers are properly trained and prepared and evaluated every three months or so on the practices and procedures of border control.
As a Customs Officer assigned to the port of entry there are many criteria one must possess. You are the first point of contact when travelers arrive. Because of frequent interaction with travelers, you must be patient, cool tempered and have sound judgment. Sad to say not everyone can do this type of work which at times can be stressful. However, you must be able to handle all types of personalities or scenario. You must remain professional at all times no matter the circumstances.
A Customs Officer will need to be firm but fair. You will also need to be honest in applying rules.
It appears that a refresher course is warranted so that the officers can improved on carrying out their daily duties. Anger management therapy should also be considered.
W*** don't care about his officers .. he gonna pick up another weed head off the street anyway !!!