Police sorry for disrupting Derry wedding, thinking it was a fake
PSNI officers were left red-faced after they ruined a wedding in the false belief that it was a sham.
Neil McElwee, 24, and Chinese pregnant bride Yanan Sun, 19, were seething after being taken away for questioning as they were about to complete the marriage ceremony in Derry on Tuesday.
The PSNI apologised for the raid, which Mr McElwee said was based on an anonymous letter sent to the Guildhall in the city.
The chef, from Castlederg, Co Tyrone, said: “It was absolutely disgraceful. My wife is five and a half months pregnant and they just treated her in a disgusting fashion.”
Police released the couple several hours later. A total of five people were arrested but four were later freed without charge including the bride and groom. One woman was detained by the UK Border Agency over her immigration status.
The Guildhall ceremony was about to start, with friends and family in place, when Mr McElwee and his bride were told there was a problem.
They were ushered into a room where up to eight plain clothespolicemen were waiting and were taken away.
Mr McElwee said it had inconvenienced all the guests, family and friends.
“Our guests stayed around to make sure we were okay, but that was that. One guest said it felt like a wake. It was a nightmare,” he said.
He added: “It is just a disgrace and a shambles, the police know it was a shambles themselves. We did not get to our reception until 8.30pm at night. I won’t be happy until I get a proper explanation.”
The couple intend to lodge complaints with Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson, the UK Border Agency and the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Mr McElwee said: “An apology? It’s just no good – apologies won’t give us our day back. It won’t make everything better.”
The couple met after they were introduced by a friend in Derry. They have been together for around a year.
Their solicitor Karina Breslin said: “I would have thought that in something as serious as disrupting a marriage ceremony that basic police work would have been done, for example, to contact the borders agency and the registrar to find out did it look like a regular marriage.
“I would have thought basic police work would have been done before disrupting someone’s marriage.”
She said the bride’s father had been arrested some weeks earlier for overstaying a visa and was being deported so the authorities had every opportunity to check the bride’s paperwork.
A PSNI spokesman said: “Police made five arrests in Derry city centre on July 19th relating to a UK Border Agency investigation of a suspected sham marriage.
“Four people, including the bride and groom, were released without charge and one woman was detained by the UK Border Agency in relation to her immigration status. Police have apologised to the couple and their families for any undue upset or distress caused.”
