The Air Canada masked stowaway case, also known as the Case of the "Disguised Man" (“易容男”案发) in Chinese, began with a stowaway incident on October 29, 2010, when a young man of Chinese descent illegally boarded Air Canada Flight 018, flying from Hong Kong to Vancouver wearing a commercially available silicone head and neck mask to impersonate a white elderly man. He removed the mask in the aircraft lavatory later in the flight, and a passenger alerted the crew after a young Asian man tried to occupy the seat formerly occupied by what appeared to be an old white man. The crew questioned the man and then alerted authorities who took the man into custody after landing. He requested asylum in Canada, and was released on bond three months later. Because of privacy concerns the Canada Border Services Agency and the Immigration Ministry would not reveal the man's name. The incident was detailed in a confidential CBSA alert titled "Unbelievable Case Of Concealment" that was leaked to the American news network CNN who made it an international story on November 5. In Hong Kong, an organized crime probe was launched after this case embarrassed security services, and several people were arrested and convicted in conjunction with this and related cases.
Investigations
This stowaway incident spawned several investigations.
After the flight arrived in Vancouver, the Canadian Border Services Agency immediately began investigating further. The man had left two carry-on bags on the aircraft, one of which contained the mask. The border agents had the man don the mask, and they took before and after photos which were later released in their intelligence alert that was leaked to CNN. They concluded that the man had made a boarding pass swap with a U.S. citizen.
Canada Border Services Agency says an investigation revealed a total of 19 CBSA employees forwarded the photo or the intelligence report to "non-authorized recipients," but they were unable to determine how CNN obtained the intelligence report. Under questioning, many employees admitted emailing the protected “intelligence alert” to friends and family because of the “amazing” and “extraordinary” nature of the case.
The incident caused the governments in Hong Kong and Canada to review security procedures. "Under the Identity Screening Regulations, airlines have the responsibility to verify the identity of all passengers who appear to be 18 years of age or older," according to a statement released immediately after the incident from the office of the Canadian Transport Minister.
After the intelligence alert was released, Air Canada confirmed that "officials from the CBSA met a passenger arriving off AC018 Hong Kong to Vancouver on October 29 and the matter is still under investigation."
Although terrorism was not alleged in this case, on November 6, 2010, at the Halifax International Security Forum, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said this case raises concerns about a security breach that terrorists might exploit. Some discussion of this incident and use of masks for terrorist purposes was noted on a discussion board believed to be associated with terrorists.
On November 7, 2010, a spokeswoman for the Hong Kong government said that the Immigration and Security authorities were investigating. Eight people were ultimately arrested in connection with the incident, five men and three women, aged between 26 and 62 years old. All were Hong Kong citizens. The immigration department, working in concert with the Hong Kong police's organized crime unit, arrested the unidentified eight in January 2011 as a part of an operation code-named "Sandstorm".
Hong Kong trial
Chau Pak-kin, 26, and Chan Wing-chung, 27 were accused of helping stowaways board flights to Canada. It was alleged that the two allowed seven passengers without the proper credentials to board flights from Hong Kong to Canada, including the masked stowaway. They were employed as ground staff of Singapore Air Terminal Services Limited, and their duties included checking documents of passengers at the boarding gates inside the departure hall of Hong Kong International Airport. They were each charged with one count of conspiracy to obtain services by deception for allowing a person with improper documentation to board an Air Canada plane, thereby defrauding Air Canada. The district court earlier ordered the two cases to be tried together in case DCCC 205 & 208 / 2011.
The 20 year old stowaway was referred to as Mr. X in the District Court. It was alleged that Mr. X used the identity of a US Citizen "Carey Henry Scott" (whose date of birth is 1955) by obtaining the boarding pass through a "boarding pass swap".