‘I’m still willing to help’: Hong Kong lawmaker breaks silence on case of undocumented boy

The lawmaker at the centre of the Siu Yau-wai drama has claimed she was "wrongly accused" of mishandling the case of the 12-year-old undocumented boy who has now been left in limbo on the mainland.

Federation of Trade Unions legislator Chan Yuen-han broke her days-long silence on the issue yesterday, denying accusations she told an aide to demand the boy's grandmother, Chow Siu-shuen, hand him over to the Immigration Department for voluntary repatriation last Thursday.

Chan said neither she nor her aides had any such intention and that Chow had suggested the idea after complaining that she and her grandson were being harassed in Hong Kong.

"People were banging on their door in the middle of the night. Chow said she was scared and wanted Yau-wai to be voluntarily repatriated," Chan said on the sidelines of a Legislative Council meeting yesterday.

"When they opted for voluntary repatriation, we were actually thinking about issues such as whether Yau-wai's temporary papers could be extended and about his educational arrangements."

The drama began last month when Yau-wai's case was brought to light at a controversial press conference organised by Chan.