Tears have been shed in court as a mother and daughter stood accused of assisting asylum seekers who made a rare boat landing on the Australian coast.
Hong Shuyan, 54, and Zhang Zhongfang, 32, each face up to 10 years in prison if convicted after being arrested in Sydney and accused of conspiring to collect unlawful maritime arrivals.
The case stems from the arrival of about 15 people by boat on Western Australia’s Kimberley coast in April.
Authorities eventually detained the asylum seekers, including one Chinese national who made it as far as a dirt track near a remote air base on the Mitchell Plateau.
The fresh arrests reignited the federal opposition’s concerns about the security of the nation’s borders and stern rhetoric from Labor about people smuggling.
Hong faced Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Friday morning, listening closely through an interpreter as a magistrate heard she and her daughter had been living in Australia on temporary visas and had no prior known criminal history.
Prosecutors raised concern the Hurstville resident might flee Australia but did not oppose her pre-trial release, satisfied strong bail conditions could mitigate the risk.
After being granted bail, she said “thank you” before breaking down as her thoughts turned to her daughter’s fate.
“I plea you grant her bail,” she said through tears to the magistrate.
Zhang was later released on the same conditions, which include daily reporting to police and staying clear of international ports.
A third alleged co-conspirator, 27-year-old Sun Shuai, also faced court charged with the same single offence of conspiracy to conceal non-citizens.
Sun was also granted bail with a string of conditions, including not attending any airports or international points of departure, and not to apply for a new passport.
He is due back in court on October 22.
None have been asked to enter pleas at this stage.
It is unclear what assistance the trio are accused of providing.
Australian authorities describe non-citizens arriving by boat as unauthorised maritime arrivals and around 95 have been held in offshore detention on Nauru in recent months.
Police in April found a missing member of a group of asylum seekers who had become separated in a remote area of the Kimberley region, not far from the Mungalalu-Truscott air base.
They identified him as a Chinese national aged in his 40s.
Australian Federal Police commander Melinda Phelan said people smugglers willingly risked the lives of others for their own financial gain.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton welcomed the charges while criticising the Albanese government for border-security lapses.
“(The government) pretend that they support OSB (Operation Sovereign Borders), but they don’t,” he said.
“They’ve reduced the amount of money that they’re spending on maritime surveillance, and aerial surveillance as well.
“And that’s why we’ve had these incursions.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers backed the government’s “really tough stance” and reinforced its clear message to people smugglers.
“If you want to be engaged in people smuggling, you’ll be punished for it,” he said.
“If you do the wrong thing you’ll get busted.”
