Official explanation on officers caught in HK doesn't convince lawmakers
Two mainland Public Security Bureau officers caught in Hong Kong with a pair of handcuffs last month were on a sightseeing trip with five staff of a rental car company, mainland officials have told Hong Kong security chiefs.
The explanation, relayed to the Legislative Council security panel by Hong Kong's Security Bureau, was greeted with disbelief by panel chairman James To Kun-sun.
Hong Kong officials had been trying to get a response from the mainland after the two officers, one carrying the handcuffs, were arrested with five others on Mount Davis Road on June 16, prompting suspicions they had been on a covert surveillance mission.
In a letter to the Legco panel, the Hong Kong bureau said the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department had confirmed that two of the seven were serving public security officials, while the other five worked for a rental car company in Shenzhen. 'The purpose of their visit was sightseeing and shopping,' it said.
Police were making further inquiries with mainland security authorities and were still investigating the 'suspected offences' of the arrested people.
