Democratic Party member reportedly kidnapped by Putonghua-speaking men wakes up on Sai Kung beach
Howard Lam Tsz-kin was allegedly taken yesterday in Mong Kok by suspected mainland law enforcement agents and beaten
Howard Lam showed the media his x-shaped wounds on his thighs.Democratic Party member Howard Lam Tsz-kin was reportedly kidnapped in Hong Kong yesterday. Lam was allegedly abducted from Portland Street in Mong Kok by Putonghua-speaking men – suspected to be mainland law enforcement agents – and bundled into a car. He woke up on a beach in Sai Kung early today, Chinese media reported.
“Lam was abducted, held, and beaten by mainland strong power department,” Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting told a press conference this morning, using a sarcastic term to refer to law enforcement. “We’d never tolerate illegal operations [like this] by mainland law enforcement in Hong Kong.”
Lam was beaten on his head and stomach, and he showed his x-shaped wounds on his thighs that he said were caused by a stapler. He said the attackers taunted him, saying “I gift you your own crosses because you’re a Christian.”
“I asked for their identity but they didn’t answer that,” says Lam.
Lam claimed to have been forced to sniff an unknown chemical before he fell unconscious. He said the men asked whether he knew Liu Xia, the wife of deceased Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. The alleged attackers had accused him of his lack of patriotism.
Lam had received a phone call from a Putonghua-speaking man three days earlier, who warned him to drop his plan to send a signed photo of footballer Lionel Messi to Liu Xia. He knew Liu Xiaobo had been a big Messi fan.
The Democratic Party member said he believed the attack was meant as a warning to all Hongkongers.
Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said the alleged incident was “unacceptable” and “outrageous”. The party urged Hong Kong police to thoroughly investigate the alleged incident.
Lam was sent to hospital after the press conference.
Edited by Jamie Lam