Judge Who Challenged Xi 'held At HK Airport'

A former Philippine Supreme Court justice who accused President Xi Jinping of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court said she was barred for hours from entering Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Conchita Carpio-Morales said she was stopped by immigration authorities, held in a room at the airport for about four hours and ordered to take a flight back to Manila. She had planned to take a vacation for five days in Hong Kong with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, who were all allowed entry.

Airport and immigration officials later told her "there was a mistake" and that she could proceed with her trip to Hong Kong, but she and her family had already decided to return home because of the incident, she said.

"I have never been subjected to this kind of humiliation," Carpio-Morales said while waiting for her flight back to Manila. She said she and her family did not want to take the risk of being subjected to further scrutiny.

A Hong Kong immigration official who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a specific immigration case said Carpio-Morales had been admitted to Hong Kong.

After flying back to Manila with her family late on Tuesday, Carpio-Morales told reporters she had repeatedly asked Hong Kong airport authorities why she was denied entry but was told only that it was because of unspecified "immigration reasons".

Carpio-Morales, 77, is a former Supreme Court associate justice and head of the Ombudsman anti-corruption agency. She retired from government service last year. In March, she and former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario filed a complaint against Xi and other officials over Beijing's assertive actions in the South China Sea, which they say deprived thousands of fishermen of their livelihoods and destroyed the environment.

Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua called the complaint a "fabrication." Beijing officials also raised their concern over the complaint in a meeting with Philippine officials in Manila in April, saying the case is "affecting the prestige of our leader," a Philippine official said.

The legal offensive against China contrasts with President Rodrigo Duterte's rapprochement with Beijing since he took office in mid-2016. (AP)