National security police arrest Hong Kong lawyer, students and 10 others accused of helping 12 fugitives with cash, getaway strategy
- Operation targets group said to have supported fugitives’ flight bid with cash and logistics
- Police source says eight men and three women held on suspicion of assisting offenders in breach of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance
National security police have arrested a lawyer, a Ukrainian man and nine others on suspicion of bankrolling an attempt by 12 Hong Kong fugitives to flee the city.
A police source confirmed the arrests early on Thursday of eight men and three women aged 18 to 72 for “assisting offenders”. The act under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
The insider said the 11 individuals were accused of sponsoring the fugitives’ attempt to abscond, with the amount of funds offered by each of them ranging from a few thousand Hong Kong dollars to tens of thousands.
“They also provided help such as introducing middle men to the fugitives, arranging shoreline pickups and providing hiding locations,” the source said.
Two underage suspects, who had jumped bail in Hong Kong, were returned to local police and are facing trial.
Lawyer Daniel Wong Kwok-tung, 72, who is also a Kowloon City district councillor, wrote on his Facebook page that officers from the police’s National Security Department arrived at his home at 6.10am on Thursday.
Officers took Wong to his council office in Kowloon City for a search of the premises before he was transported to Sha Tin Police Station for further questioning.
Handcuffed as he was escorted from his office, Wong said: “Democracy, rule of law, human rights, persistence. Hongkongers do not give up.”
The 29-year-old Ukrainian man works at a local restaurant. The others include two students aged 18 and 19, and a 29-year-old independent musician called Rono Fok.
National security law expands police powers to hunt down suspects
The source said the national security unit led the operation because they were overseeing the fugitives’ cases, adding none of those arrested had been detained by the department before.
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National security police arrest 11 suspected of helping 12 Hong Kong fugitives
Last October, officers from the organised crime and triad bureau arrested nine people, including former assistants to three ex-lawmakers, on suspicion of helping the 12 activists. The nine were all released on bail pending further investigation.
BN(O) passport holders ‘may face ban from public office in Hong Kong’
Separately, Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu said local officials would “proactively cooperate” with the central government, after sources told the Post that Beijing was mulling how to retaliate against London’s new pathway for Hongkongers to acquire British citizenship.
Hui fled to Denmark in November last year after he was granted bail over protest-related charges in Hong Kong without having his passport confiscated.
There is no extradition agreement between Hong Kong and the Scandinavian country.
Lee said the Hong Kong government was responsible for handling people who broke the law.
“If [you are] not in Hong Kong, we need to find a way, through international cooperation, so that you show up in our jurisdiction,” he told Phoenix TV.
“But as long as someone breaks the law, the law enforcement agency must collect adequate evidence so that he will face legal consequences.”
Additional reporting by Tony Cheung