A missing Hong Kong employee from a publisher of books critical of China was “assisting in an investigation”, his wife said Saturday, as the police also probe the disappearance of his colleagues.
A missing Hong Kong employee from a publisher of books critical of China was “assisting in an investigation”, his wife said Saturday, as the police also probe the disappearance of his colleagues.
Lee Bo went missing Wednesday night and is the fifth employee of Hong Kong-based publisher Mighty Current to disappear. The incident adds to growing unease that freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese city are being eroded, with fears the five men may have been detained by Chinese authorities.
“He said he wouldn’t be back so soon and he was assisting in an investigation,” Mr Lee’s wife Sophie Choi told Hong Kong’s Cable Television, describing a call she had with Lee the night he failed to return home. It was not clear what investigation Mr Lee was referring to.
“I asked him if it was related to the case before. He said ‘yes’, regarding that case where a few others had gone missing,” Ms Choi said. The police said in a statement they were investigating the disappearance of Mr Lee and three of the other missing men. It made no comment on the fifth man. Deputy leader Carrie Lam tried to reassure the public.
“The Hong Kong government cares about its people’s wellbeing... The police is working on this case,” she told reporters.
Ms Choi previously said she started looking for Mr Lee on Wednesday night after he failed to return home for dinner and she reported him missing to police on Friday.
He later called to say “everything was alright” from a number that did not belong to him and originated from the neighbouring mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen, Ms Choi had said. Another source said Mr Lee, 65, was last seen in Hong Kong Wednesday at the publisher’s warehouse.
