Where is Carrie Lam? UK-based YouTuber apologises over claims of ex-Hong Kong leader spotted at London airport, after photo evidence proves she is still in city

Former leader seen at Chinese opera show in Sha Tin and a seminar at the Convention and Exhibition Centre

Ex-TV anchor retracts post after saying he relied on one source and was not prudent enough

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The were questions raised about former chief executive Carrie Lam’s whereabouts just 17 days after she left office. Photo: Robert Ng

Published: 3:10pm, 20 Jul 2022Updated: 6:33pm, 20 Jul 2022

A UK-based YouTuber, who stoked controversy after claiming former Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was in London just 17 days after her term ended, has apologised in the face of pictures proving she is still in the city.

Former commerce minister Fredrick Ma Si-hang also confirmed he met Lam at a Chinese opera show in Sha Tin Town Hall on Saturday night – the same evening the ex-leader was said to have been spotted in Britain. Ma’s account on Wednesday was in line with events depicted in a photo obtained by the Post from a source.

Lam, who recently stepped down after completing her term in the top job, was also seen at a seminar at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on Monday, during which Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, delivered an online speech. She did not respond to media questions that day.

Carrie Lam was spotted at a Chinese opera performance on July 16, which former minister Frederick Ma also attended. Photo: Handout

The evidence has forced YouTuber Chris Wong Chun-yin, also a former television anchor in Hong Kong, to post an apology on Facebook after he claimed for two days that Lam had been spotted at Heathrow Airport, based on “a source”.

“We only relied on a single source and did not make further verification in the process. We were not prudent enough,” he said, retracting his original post.

On Sunday, Wong said on social media that a source had seen both Lam and husband Lam Siu-por at the London airport, supposedly in transit.

“No pictures ... but trustworthy,” Wong had said in his post with hashtags, without providing any evidence.

Lam is among 11 Hong Kong and mainland officials still under US sanctions, with her potential movement out of the city drawing much attention. She does not have dual nationality, but her husband and both of their sons carry British passports.