Another Ex-Shenzhen Detainee Remanded In Custody

The second of two teenagers brought back to the territory after being detained for months in Shenzhen with a group of 10 other Hongkongers has appeared in court in the SAR and has been remanded in custody.

Liu Tsz-man, 18, was taken to the District Court on Thursday after completing quarantine upon returning to the territory late last month.

The teenager is charged with conspiracy to commit arson for allegedly possessing raw materials to make Molotov cocktails during anti-government protests in 2019.

Four others were charged alongside him in the same case. Two of them were with Liu on a speedboat allegedly bound for Taiwan that was intercepted by the Guangdong coast guard last August.

These two and eight other Hongkongers were jailed for between seven months and three years by a court in Shenzhen last month for illegally entering mainland waters.

The District Court adjourned Liu's case until March 2 so it can be handled together with that of the other defendants in Hong Kong.

Liu was remanded in custody in the meantime.

The authorities earlier suggested that extra charges could be laid against him because of the alleged attempt to flee to Taiwan.

Prosecutors handling the case of the other young detainee brought back to Hong Kong, Hoang Lam-phuc, said on Wednesday that they may charge him with absconding and conspiring to assist criminals.