A Hong Kong resident has been rescued and transferred to Thailand after being held against his will and forced to carry out "illegal work" in Myanmar.

In a statement, the Security Bureau said its task force earlier received a request for assistance, and immediately launched a joint rescue operation with Thai authorities after liaising with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese embassies in Myanmar and Thailand, and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok.

The SAR bureau's dedicated task force arrived in Thailand on Friday to follow up on the incident.

Arrangements were made for the man to meet his family in Thailand. He was in good mental and physical condition, the bureau said.

The bureau quoted the man as saying he felt like he had been "experiencing a horror movie in the past few days".

A return to Hong Kong will be arranged for him as soon as possible, with the bureau adding that it will continue to follow up on his case after his return.

Since 2024, a total of 32 "requests for assistance" cases have been received by the SAR's law enforcement agencies in relation to Hong Kong residents alleged to have been held against their will in Southeast Asian countries. Of these, 28 have returned to Hong Kong.



Edited by Thomas McAlinden