Carrie Lam Slams Flight Tracker Report As 'smearing'

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that the Hong Kong police have "absolutely no role" to play in the mainland's high seas arrest of 12 Hongkongers, and hit back at a report suggesting otherwise as a fabrication.

The Apple Daily had published a report saying flight tracking data had shown a government flying service aircraft circling over the group's planned route to Taiwan on that morning one and a half month ago, implying that the authorities knew the plan in advance.

But Lam dismissed questions as to whether Hong Kong police had helped the mainland authorities to detain the 12 and slammed the reports as "smearing".

"A tiny fraction of people have not given up any opportunity to smear the Hong Kong government, to attack the police, to fabricate this and that and so on," she said.

"I will not comment on the actual operational details, except to reinforce what the police have said, that the police have absolutely no role to play in this particular case," the Chief Executive said.

Lam said that the 12 should now face the legal consequences of committing a crime on the mainland.

She said Hong Kong people should see the truth for themselves, and shouldn't go by "misrepresentation and wrong news".