Police refute newspaper report

September 21, 2020

Police today refuted a newspaper report in which the father of a detainee on the Mainland alleged the force tracked his son’s communication records and colluded with Mainland authorities in detaining 12 Hong Kong citizens.

 

In a statement, Police said they were notified through the Reciprocal Notification Mechanism on August 28 that Mainland authorities had arrested 12 subjects for illegally crossing the boundary into Mainland waters on August 23.

 

Mainland authorities are handling the case according to the law and the enforcement action was totally unrelated to the Hong Kong Police Force, the statement added.

 

Upon receiving the notification, Police immediately informed the family members of the arrestees and provided the channels for seeking assistance from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Police are closely liaising with Mainland authorities on the case and will follow up as appropriate.

 

In today’s media report, the father of one of the 12 detainees said he had made a report to Police on August 26 about his son who had gone missing.

 

Police confirmed that a man had reported to Tsuen Wan Police Station that day that his son had left his residence on August 23 to go fishing with friends for several days. The informant later lost contact with him.

 

While making the report, the informant provided his son's phone number to police officers. With the consent of and witnessed by the informant, the officers made use of the WhatsApp messaging application to check his son’s last online time and status for initial enquiry.

 

Police reiterated today that the communication records of the informant’s son were never acquired, adding that the informant can contact them about the handling of the case if there is any misunderstanding.      

 

Meanwhile, Wan Chai Police Station received a report from a woman yesterday stating that six Hong Kong citizens were being detained by Mainland authorities and requesting police assistance.

 

The case has been classified as request for police assistance and is being handled by the Wan Chai District Crime Squad. The relevant people are being liaised with for statements.

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