Deportees criminals: Minister West Australian 11/1/02 THREE Vietnamese had been deported because they had committed serious crimes, Immigration Minister Phillip Ruddock said yesterday. He was answering criticism from migrant and human rights group spokesmen. The three, flown home yesterday after serving terms at Silverwater Jail in western Sydney, were among 36 Vietnamese who face deportation under an agreement signed with the Vietnamese Government last June. Thang Ngo, a Vietnamese community councillor in the western Sydney suburb of Fairfield, said the three had come as migrants years ago and had spent too much time here to be removed. "Arguably some of their problems were formed in Australia, yet because they're not Australian citizens we're using that loophole to send them back to a country that we granted them asylum against," he said on ABC television. Mr Ruddock defended the deportation. "We're talking about people who are not citizens of Australia, who committed serious criminal offences here, mostly involving drugs, which jeopardise the lives and futures of young Australians, where we are of the view that they should go home," he said. "Permanent residents are frequently reminded that if they commit serious criminal offences in Australia they are likely to be removed." Amnesty International spokesman John Clugston said it was concerned that the remaining 33 had been kept in jail after their sentences ended until Vietnam decided whether or not to take them back. But the Government said the agreement with Vietnam would clear the way for their deportation