A MYSTERY man rescued from the sea near Rozel – who said he swam to Jersey from France and quoted Shakespeare in an attempt to prove he was British – has been jailed for 15 months for illegally entering the Island.
David Law was sentenced in the Royal Court this week for one count of knowingly entering Jersey without leave and one count of seeking to obtain or secure the avoidance or postponement of enforcement action against him, after authorities spent months investigating him in a “highly unusual case” in which Law’s “true identity” remains unknown.
Emergency services were called to Rozel Bay on 19 September last year after two members of the public heard a cry for help from the beach, with Law – who was found wearing a wetsuit, swim cap and goggles with a belt bag with 265 euros in it – brought ashore and treated by paramedics before being taken to the General Hospital.
When questioned by Customs officers, Law claimed he had been in the water for 13 hours after swimming from an undisclosed French beach in an attempt to return home to London. He stated that he was a British citizen but had no identification or travel documentation to prove this claim and he was subsequently arrested.
In interviews, Law said he was born in London before being taken by his parents to India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar where he lived for at least 10 years.
It was put to him that he spoke with an accent, which he dismissed and said that English was his first and only language, and he offered to prove to officers how British he was by quoting Shakespeare.
Law said that swimming was a better way to travel to the UK than contacting an embassy, adding that he did not want to use the embassy as a “ticket office or charity” but wanted to do it the “hard way”.
Law was taken to HMP La Moye, while continuing to maintain that he was David Law.
He claimed to have held a British passport when younger and expressed distrust in the government, accusing Customs officers of pressuring him to slip up and said they had enough information to conduct the necessary checks to verify his identity.
Law was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in deception under the Immigration Act 1971.
He was interviewed under caution, but gave no comment answers to all questions.
Crown Advocate Lauren Taylor, prosecuting, said that Law’s “incredible story of how he arrived in Jersey is a fabrication designed to avoid enforcement”.
Advocate Taylor said that Law did not give a single verifiable account during the course of the investigation, and the checks on his identity did not produce any results.
No matches were found for Law’s DNA or fingerprints and he did not appear on any immigration databases.
In a statement following Law’s sentencing, Jersey Customs and Immigration Service said: “This was a highly unusual case which has required detailed work over many months, from officers within the JCIS”, Jersey Customs and Immigration Service said.
“Despite extensive investigations, the true identity of the individual is still unknown, and inquiries continue to be made to identify his identity and nationality.”
The court also recommended Law be deported, a decision which now rests with the Home Affairs Minister, although to where remains unclear.
