Britain in urgent quest for contact with Hong Kong consulate employee Simon Cheng Man-kit
- State-run tabloid quotes mainland police as saying Cheng detained in Shenzhen for soliciting a prostitute
London said on Thursday it “urgently” sought information on the detention in mainland China of a Hong Kong employee of the British consulate in the city, after Chinese state-run newspaper reported that he was being held for 15 days for “solicitation of prostitution”.
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was “our priority” to make contact with Simon Cheng Man-kit, 28, a trade and investment officer at the consulate’s Scottish Development International section.
“Neither we nor Simon’s family have been able to speak to him since his detention,” the office said in a statement. “That is our priority and we continue to raise Simon’s case repeatedly in China, Hong Kong and London and have sought to make contact with Simon himself.”
Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times reported earlier in the day that Cheng was being held in administrative detention for 15 days for visiting a prostitute – a violation of Chinese law.
The penalty for the offence is between 10 and 15 days in detention and a possible fine of 5,000 yuan (US$705).
The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed on Wednesday that Cheng had been held under administrative detention in Shenzhen for violating “public security management regulations”, adding that his detention was purely a matter for China.