An employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong who was detained in China’s border city of Shenzhen amid accusations of outside interference in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong was released on Saturday, Chinese police said.
Simon Cheng was detained for 15 days for violating public security management regulations, police in Shenzhen’s Luohu district said on their Twitter-like Weibo account.
Police said Cheng was released as scheduled on Saturday and that his legal rights and interests had been observed. They also said Cheng had confessed to the accusations against him.
Earlier this month, Britain's foreign office said it was seeking more information about the detention.
"We are concerned by reports that a member of our team has been detained while returning to Hong Kong from Shenzhen," a Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson in Beijing said in an emailed statement.
"We are providing support to their family and seeking further information from authorities in Guangdong Province and Hong Kong."
Cheng, an employee at the UK consulate in Hong Kong, did not return to work on August 9 after visiting Shenzhen the previous day, Hong Kong news website HK01 reported, citing an interview with his girlfriend.
Reuters.
