Security Suspect Andy Li Is Missing: Concern Group

A concern group said on Thursday that the family of one of the Hongkongers released from a mainland prison this week have been unable to trace his whereabouts since he was brought back to the SAR and charged under the national security law.

Andy Li, 30, was one of the 12 young Hongkongers captured and detained by the mainland during an alleged bid to flee the SAR for Taiwan by speedboat last summer. He and seven others were handed over to the Hong Kong police on Monday after the group competed prison terms in Guangdong for “illegally crossing the border”.

Li did not appear in West Kowloon Magistracy when his national security case was mentioned on Wednesday, and media reports said the magistrate asked the Correctional Services Department (CSD) to take him into its custody.

But the Save 12 Hong Kong Youths Concern Group said his family has been told by the CSD that it has nobody of that name in the system, while police have said they do not know where Li is now.

"We have not been able to locate the whereabouts of Andy Li, who has also refused the lawyer arranged by his family," it said.

“The family did not receive any notification of Li's condition or remand arrangements from any CSD personnel. The family is worried because no government official has contacted the family since Li was detained by the Hong Kong authorities four days ago,” it added.

“We hope that the Security Bureau can confirm with the family the whereabouts of Andy Li and his remand arrangement, so that the family can make arrangement for his welfare while being remanded as soon as possible.”

Responding to an RTHK inquiry about Li’s whereabouts, the CSD says it will not comment on individual cases.

It says the department will ask new inmates whether they need help to inform their relatives where they are being detained in accordance with established procedures.

The CSD also says if inmates refuse to disclose to others where they're being held, the department will handle their case according to their wishes. The inmates can make a request for the department to notify their relatives, or they can write to their loved ones themselves afterwards.

Li is accused of colluding with foreign forces, an offence which carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

The other seven men brought back to Hong Kong, who face protest-related charges, are under quarantine in the Lai Chi Kok and Pik Uk correctional institutions, the concern group said in a post on social media.

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