Fraud charges withdrawn due to lack of evidence
A Hong Kong businessman, detained on the mainland for more than five years without seeing his family, has been released and returned home.
Chan Tsz-cheung, 59, was freed after his family met senior officials in Beijing and sought help from the People's Daily newspaper.
The case caused anger when it was alleged that a Guangdong public security officer had crossed the border in 2001 to investigate the matter without informing the Hong Kong authorities.
Mr Chan's daughter said the man interviewed her and asked for 14 million yuan to secure her father's release.
Mr Chan's family said the Guangdong Provincial Procuratorate withdrew fraud charges and released him from a detention centre in Shenzhen on November 11 due to a lack of evidence. Mr Chan returned home 11 days later, after his travel documents were returned.
The businessman does not want to talk about his detention but his son, Michael Chan Yuen-shing, said it was a 'big relief'.