A member of staff at the British Consulate in Hong Kong who was detained in China has been released. Simon Cheng had been reported missing after he was stopped in China's border city of Shenzhen and failed to return to work on August 8. Cheng was detained for 15 days for 'violating public security management regulations', police in Shenzhen's Luohu district said this morning on their Twitter-like Weibo account. Police said Cheng was released as scheduled on Saturday and that his legal rights and interests had been observed. They also said Cheng had confessed to the accusations against him. Officials from the UK government said earlier this week they were "extremely concerned" for Mr Cheng's wellbeing. In a social media post this morning, his family issued a brief statement confirming he was back home. They said: "Simon has returned to Hong Kong; thank you everyone for your support! "Simon and his family wish to have some time to rest and recover, and will not take any interview for the moment. "We would ask media and friends to give them some time and space, and we will explain more later." Mr Cheng told his girlfriend on August 8 that he had deleted messages on his phone before reaching the border from the mainland. His girlfriend told HK01.com, a news website, that she last heard from him at about 10.40pm, when he said that he was on a high-speed train about to enter Hong Kong. “Passing through,” he wrote. “Pray for me.” His disappearance follows weeks of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which have led to strict border controls. Residents and foreign journalists are said to have been stopped by officials on the border and asked to hand in electronic equipment for inspection and to delete images related to the protests.
Simon Cheng released: British consulate worker detained in China is freed
A member of staff at the British Consulate in Hong Kong who was detained in China has been released. Simon Cheng had been reported missing after he was stopped in China's border city of Shenzhen and failed to return to work on August 8. Cheng was detained for 15 days for 'violating public security management regulations', police in Shenzhen's Luohu district said this morning on their Twitter-like Weibo account. Police said Cheng was released as scheduled on Saturday and that his legal rights and interests had been observed. They also said Cheng had confessed to the accusations against him. Officials from the UK government said earlier this week they were "extremely concerned" for Mr Cheng's wellbeing. In a social media post this morning, his family issued a brief statement confirming he was back home. They said: "Simon has returned to Hong Kong; thank you everyone for your support! "Simon and his family wish to have some time to rest and recover, and will not take any interview for the moment. "We would ask media and friends to give them some time and space, and we will explain more later." Mr Cheng told his girlfriend on August 8 that he had deleted messages on his phone before reaching the border from the mainland. His girlfriend told HK01.com, a news website, that she last heard from him at about 10.40pm, when he said that he was on a high-speed train about to enter Hong Kong. “Passing through,” he wrote. “Pray for me.” His disappearance follows weeks of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which have led to strict border controls. Residents and foreign journalists are said to have been stopped by officials on the border and asked to hand in electronic equipment for inspection and to delete images related to the protests.
0 Comments