Police may seek US help on Lee surrogacy case
Hong Kong police may seek help from law enforcers overseas as they carry out an investigation into the surrogacy deal involving property scion Peter Lee Ka-kit.
Henderson Land Development announced the birth of three sons to Peter Lee, Lee Shau-kee's eldest son and Henderson's vice-chairman, on October 26. The babies, Chi-shun, Chi-yan and Chi-yung, were born in the United States.
Lee did not say who gave birth to the triplets, but it was reported that she was a hired California-based surrogate mother.
Commercial surrogacy is illegal under Hong Kong law but not in the US.
Secretary for Food and Health Dr York Chow Yat-ngok told lawmakers on Wednesday that a suspected surrogacy arrangement was referred to the police. He did not give any names.
Commissioner of Police Tang King-shing adopted a similar tone yesterday. Saying he would not comment on an individual case, he stressed a team of experienced investigators is following it up.
Like any other case of a special nature, there may be a need to seek the assistance of experts, he said.
Tang also defended a news blackout on the city's largest gold bullion robbery in a decade. A total of 265 gold bars worth HK$90 million were taken from a Yuen Long gold trading company six weeks ago, but news of the theft was only announced yesterday after the police arrested three suspects.
He said the police respect freedom of the press and the public right to information, but must strike a balance between considerations such as the case's nature and whether the announcement of a crime will affect action by the police or the judiciary.
In a report earlier in the Financial Times, president of the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society Haywood Cheung was quoted as saying pawn shops and jewellers had discovered fake gold worth about US$280,000 this year.
In response, Tang said the police would look into whether the fake gold sprang from an organised effort.
