Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    INSPECTION teams are visiting expatriates’ homes and checking registration documents and passports, according to photographs provided by the Shekou police. It is part of a citywide operation to check foreign residents’ registration, according to police.

    At least three expatriates have been fined by the Shekou police, according to Shekou business owner Aaron Cannon, who volunteered at the Shekou police station.

    The operation took place over the weekend, a police officer from the Nanshan District Public Security Sub-bureau confirmed yesterday.

    He refused to disclose any other details, including how long the operation would last.

    The entry and exit department of the city’s public security bureau did not answer the phone yesterday.

    Trevor Haines, originally from England, said he was stopped on his bike outside Rose Garden Phase 1 in Shekou in Nanshan District around 10 p.m. Friday.

    “I knew exactly what they were after and luckily I was informed by my friend to get all my documents and keep them with me,” said Haines.

    “I gave all of the paperwork to the officer, he checked only the registration document and I was on my way again in no time at all. Nice and easy,” he said.

    “Cops stopping all the foreigners at the gate of my complex in Nanshan high-tech park, checking passports, visas and local registration,” read a message from a WeChat user named “Colin.”

    Cannon, a Shekou bar owner and resident of Shenzhen for 12 years, said two of the expatriates were fined 500 yuan (US$76) and one was fined 1,000 yuan.

    Expatriates are advised by police to carry their passports and registration papers when going out.