The Security Bureau (SB) today (January 25) said that a Hong Kong resident who had been detained for illegal work in Myanmar was recently rescued and safely arrived in Thailand earlier. With the co-ordination by the SB's dedicated task force in Thailand over the past few days and the concerted efforts by different parties, the individual will return to Hong Kong next Monday (January 27) together with the dedicated task force.
Members of the dedicated task force had met with the Hong Kong resident at a detention centre last night (January 24) after his transferral to Bangkok. The task force members expressed sympathy to the individual, who expressed gratitude for the visit to Thailand by the task force members to follow up on his case. He was also very pleased to learn that he will be able to return to Hong Kong next Monday. He was in good mental and physical conditions. The task force members immediately made arrangements for his return to Hong Kong, and will continue to follow up to investigate his case after his return.
The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, was very relieved that one more Hong Kong resident was rescued and able to return to Hong Kong to re-unite with his family before the Chinese New Year. He thanked sincerely for the support and assistance, as well as the importance attached to the case, by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Chinese Embassy in the Kingdom of Thailand, the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Chiang Mai, the Consulate General of Myanmar in Hong Kong, the Royal Thai Consulate-General, Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok and the relevant Thai authorities, enabling the return of the Hong Kong resident to Hong Kong within a short period of time as far as practicable. He also commended the dedicated task force for the committed efforts in following up the case and assisting the Hong Kong resident's return to Hong Kong as soon as possible.
The dedicated task force, comprising members from the SB, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Immigration Department, has been contacting and liaising with different parties since their arrival in Thailand on January 21. They met with the Chinese Embassy in the Kingdom of Thailand, the Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Police, Mr Phanthana Nutchanart; the officer-in-charge of the Immigration Detention Centre of the Royal Thai Police; the Director of Special Investigation and the Director of Human Trafficking under the Ministry of Justice of Thailand to discuss the arrangements for the rescued Hong Kong resident to return to Hong Kong as soon as possible and follow up on the remaining cases. The dedicated task force will continue to maintain close liaison with the relevant parties and proactively follow up on the remaining 10 request-for-assistance cases in which the individuals have not yet returned to Hong Kong.
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