By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-19 08:41:23 | Updated at 2025-01-19 12:37:46
3 hours ago
Hong Kong’s security chief has defended the government’s role in securing the release of residents lured into working at scam farms in Southeast Asia, after at least two of the victims had their ransoms paid before they returned to the city.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said that “any measures should be taken as long as they are legal and suitable” when asked if paying ransoms would only encourage more kidnappings.
“What is the ultimate goal? It’s the safe return of these people. And the victims are not in Hong Kong, so we have exhausted all other possible methods,” he told a television programme on Sunday.
Tang’s bureau sent a task force to Thailand on January 12 to meet local authorities and work towards the rescue of 12 Hongkongers reported to be held captive in the region and forced to work in scam farms.
One of the 12 victims, a 25-year-old man, returned to Hong Kong several days later. His family told a former district councillor assisting them that they had paid a ransom for his safe return.
The plight of residents held captive in Southeast Asia re-emerged as a public concern following the rescue of mainland Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was earlier kidnapped along the Thai-Myanmese border after being lured to Thailand under false pretences.
