A Greenpeace activist has demanded an apology from PCCW's security officers after she and 11 reporters were trapped for five minutes in a lift as she headed to the office of Nestle Hong Kong to stage a protest.
Luisa Tam Han-may, one of the group's activists protesting against Nestle for producing genetically modified food, described the incident as 'forced imprisonment' and said they might take further action against the management company.
She accused security officers of deliberately shutting down the lift at PCCW Tower in Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay, as she headed for Nestle's office on the 28th floor. Another group of reporters was also trapped in a separate lift on the ground floor for about two minutes.
'Just after we entered the lift and the door closed, the lift didn't move while the ventilation system stopped. We didn't know what was going on and then we tried to press the alarm button. But no one answered us.
'Five minutes later, I reported it to the police and then the lift door was reopened in about two minutes. We tried to seek an explanation from the security officers but they just ignored us,' she said.
Security officers later told the activists and reporters that the lift stoppages were caused by technical problems and they did not deliberately switch off the lift.
However, a spokesman for PCCW admitted their tower management officers were instructed by Nestle to prevent the lift reaching the 28th floor.
