HK deports disabled man

Many residents are unsympathetic to the migrants

Hong Kong has deported a mainland immigrant to China, despite the fact he has a mental disability.

Cheung Hoi-sang's lawyer told the BBC's Damian Grammaticas that his client had been sent back to the mainland on Tuesday.

The case sparked angry protests

Mr Cheung's lawyers had fought the deportation order, arguing that he has the mental age of a child, and no-one to care for him across the border.

But the territory's highest court ruled that the repatriation was lawful.

There are more than 4,000 children of Hong Kong residents trying to avoid deportation to China after Hong Kong removed their rights to live in the territory.

The case of Cheung Hoi-sang stands out because his lawyers say he suffers from a mental disability.

Although he is 25, his family had argued that he should be allowed to stay with them as he has a mental age of 13 and nobody to care for him in mainland China.

Mr Cheung was detained by police 10 days ago. Several hundred of the parents fighting to keep their children with them besieged the police station where he was being held.

They then staged a hunger strike outside the prison where he was later taken.

About 4,000 abode seekers face deportation

The government applied to the courts to speed up his deportation.

Although Mr Cheung's lawyers asked for more time to submit medical reports and said his detention was unlawful, the court ruled in the government's favour.

His mother broke down outside the hearing, saying the decision was unfair.

Suicide bid

In a separate incident, another migrant, a 32-year-old woman, has been taken to hospital.

The authorities told her she had to return to China, leaving her 74-year-old father in Hong Kong.

She first slashed her wrists in front of immigration officers. She then reportedly tried to commit suicide by jumping into the sea.

Hong Kong's police have set up barricades outside the territory's immigration headquarters.

On Monday, 200 parents tried to force their way in, demanding a meeting with the director of immigration.

Representatives asked him to exercise his discretion and allow their children to stay in Hong Kong if their cases are exceptional.

So far, around 80 people have been returned to the Chinese mainland. The authorities say no cases have been found to warrant a stay of deportation on compassionate grounds.