Another Hongkonger trafficked into Southeast Asia has returned to Hong Kong, Secretary for Security Chris Tang has said, as families of victims met with a dedicated task force that held discussions with Thai authorities this week.
Ex-district councillor Andy Yu with families of trafficking victims, outside the government headquarters on January 16, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
The security chief confirmed media reports that one of the detainees returned to the city on a Thursday morning flight after he met with officials from the Thai consulate in Hong Kong.
“I am glad that the efforts of our colleagues have brought us this good news. My team and I will continue to follow up on the matter and hope that every Hong Kong resident can return home safely!” Tang said in a Chinese Facebook post.
In a separate Facebook post, the Security Bureau (SB) said the authorities received the returnee at the airport on Thursday.
With the latest return, a total of 17 trafficking victims have returned to Hong Kong, while 11 are still being held captive by scam rings in Myanmar.
The government said they have received a total of 28 requests for assistance since mid-2024.
Tang’s statement came as the families of Hongkongers trafficked to Southeast Asia met with a Security Bureau task force, who returned from Thailand on Tuesday night.
During the two-day trip, the task force held talks with the Thai authorities and Chinese embassy officials in a bid to help Hongkongers trafficked and detained in Southeast Asia.
Ransom paid
Former district councillor Andy Yu, who has been assisting families of trafficking victims since last September, told HKFP that the family of the Hongkonger who returned on Thursday had paid a ransom.
A Hongkonger who was illegally detained in Southeast Asia returns to Hong Kong, on January 16, 2025. Photo: Security Bureau.
Neither Tang nor the Security Bureau specified whether a ransom had been paid. HKFP has reached out to the bureau for comment.
Yu was also present on Thursday when the families met with reporters ahead of their meeting with the task force. But he was barred from accompanying the families to the meeting, with Security Bureau staff saying he was not a family member of a victim.
Yu also said that the Hongkonger who returned on Thursday was one of the nine cases that he had been following. “Freed after nearly four months, back in Hong Kong safely today,” he said.
The ex-councillor told reporters that a majority of the families of Hongkongers who returned did have to pay ransoms. The authorities have yet to say how many of the returnees paid ransoms.
Asked whether the government had helped in the rescue, Yu said he “couldn’t say,” but added that he believed the local authorities “had a role to play in terms of liaison.”
Ex-district councillor Andy Yu is barred from a meeting between families of trafficking victims and a government task force, on January16, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Hong Kong police on Wednesday arrested a 32-year-old woman on suspicion of conspiring to defraud after she allegedly lured two young women to Thailand last October for quick cash but were instead trafficked to a “scam farm” in Myanmar upon arrival.
The pair returned to Hong Kong last Saturday after their families paid a ransom, Superintendent lu Wing-kan said at a press briefing on Wednesday, without disclosing the amount.
The police are investigating whether more victims – or an organised criminal group – were linked to the woman.
