LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) – A South Sudanese man was jailed for two years and three months in an English court on Friday after he admitted piloting a small boat across the Channel from France, which carried a then-record 165 people.
Chan Mathok Atak, 19, previously pleaded guilty to endangering another during a July crossing to Britain in an inflatable dinghy.
The record for most migrants travelling to Britain across the Channel by small boat was broken again last month, when 230 people made the journey.
Atak’s sentencing comes as the numbers of those arriving in Britain across the Channel have fallen, but the crossings remain a prominent political issue which successive British governments have struggled to tackle.
Earlier this month, hundreds of black-clad protesters gathered twice in two days on Britain’s south coast, blocking streets in response to arrivals of small boats, which a government minister described as “thuggish”.
Right-wing opposition parties and anti-migration activists have called for more action, but greater cooperation with French authorities and even repeated deaths have not deterred many people from seeking to make the perilous journey.
OVERCROWDED DINGHY CARRIED 165 PEOPLE
Atak was sentenced to 27 months in prison at Canterbury Crown Court. Prosecutor James Harrison said Atak piloted the dinghy for at least 90 minutes while it carried 164 other people, including 31 children aged 14 to 17.
He said there was no navigational or first aid equipment on the boat, which had only one of its two engines working and was slowly deflating and taking on sea water before it was intercepted by Britain’s Border Force.
Atak’s lawyer Audrey Cherryl Mogan said Atak was a young asylum seeker from South Sudan who did not have anything to do with the number of people or the conditions on board.
Judge Sarah Counsell accepted there was no evidence Atak organised the journey, but said that “those who chose to steer such vessels assume responsibility for the safety of those on board”.
“This undermines public confidence in the immigration system and places considerable strain on already stretched public resources,” she added.
The National Crime Agency’s senior investigating officer John Turner said in a statement: “Chan Atak was unimaginably reckless and his actions could have easily resulted in many deaths had this boat not been intercepted.”
(Reporting by Sam TobinEditing by Ros Russell)
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