Mainland Conveys Arrest Details Of 12 Detainees

Police said on Saturday that Guangdong authorities have given them details of the high seas arrest of 12 Hong Kong people who have been in detention in Shenzhen for over a month.

Police said they have been told that Shenzhen officials will submit the case to the Yantian People's Procuratorate for the arrest approval, in accordance with the mainland laws.

In a statement, the local police said they were informed on Friday that around 9am on August 23, the mainland coast guard discovered the Hong Kong residents on board a speedboat and they were arrested over suspected illegal entry.

The Yantian branch of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau then detained them for further investigation.

The mainland authorities also said the speedboat for the group was arranged by a smuggling syndicate in the Po Toi O pier in Sai Kung and they left the SAR around 7am and planned to flee to Taiwan "in order to evade criminal responsibility in Hong Kong".

"They have paid the syndicate certain fee before boarding the speedboat," they said.

Hong Kong police said according to the information provided by Guangdong authorities and checking the data here, they suspect the boat entered the mainland waters through south eastern side of the boundary of Hong Kong waters at around 7.30am.

"The speedboat was 10.9NM outside the boundary of Hong Kong waters and was steering towards southeast direction", at around 8am, it said.

The police statement also noted that the coast guard statement had said the arrest was "approximately 26NM off the southeastern side of the boundary of Hong Kong waters".