Man claims father detained on HK-Macau-Zhuhai bridge

Man claims father detained on HK-Macau-Zhuhai bridge

The Immigration Department has confirmed that it is following up on a case about a Hong Kong man who went missing, as he was heading to Macau via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge.



The son of the missing man told Cable TV that his father was heading to Macau on Friday afternoon, when mainland authorities detained him at the bridge's eastern artificial island.



He lost contact after messaging his family to tell them that he had been arrested.



The incident happened as President Xi Jinping is about to visit Macau for the 20th anniversary of its handover.



Zhuhai authorities had earlier issued a notice saying they would set up checkpoints on the bridge's eastern artificial island from the 10th to 22nd of this month - to maintain order for the handover celebrations.



Normally, Hong Kong people only need to go through immigration checks from Macau authorities - not mainland officials - when they use the bridge to go to the gambling hub.



The Immigration Department said it's been notified of the case and has followed up through the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong.



The Hong Kong police also said they've been notified, but the Security Bureau said it's not appropriate for the SAR government to interfere in the law enforcement activities of other jurisdictions.



The Security Bureau said it would handle cases under the existing mechanism, which requires the mainland and Hong Kong governments to notify each other if they make criminal arrests or prosecutions against residents from the other jurisdiction.