Police said the four, aged 16 to 24, were intercepted at a bus terminal near a ferry pier before dawn on Wednesday. Local news reported that at the time of the arrest the men were carrying bags of clothes and other items and each had more than NT$10,000 (£280). They were believed to be heading for Taiwan. Senior Supt Steve Li, from the police’s national security division, said the men were hiding from law enforcement after failing to respond to court summonses. He said the four men had tried to seek asylum through the US consulate in Hong Kong in December 2020 but had been rejected. Since then they have been hiding in various places with the help of an anonymous party, who moved in and fed them. “For almost a year, these four people have not set foot outside,” Li said. When the four were intercepted, Lee said they had long hair and looked malnourished. To avoid detection during transport, Lee said the men were subjected to “inhumane” treatment because they were put in cardboard boxes and did not know their destination. He said they had paid anonymous middlemen more than HK$400,000 (£43,100) to be smuggled out of Hong Kong. He also said some of the mediators have left Hong Kong themselves, leaving the four young protesters to fend for themselves. A 34-year-old man was also arrested for assisting offenders, but Lee did not say whether he was with the facilitators. One of the four accused, Tsang Chi-kin, who in 2019 was an 18-year-old secondary school student, was shot in the chest by a police officer during a protest in Tsuen Wan. He was later charged with rioting. Police said the officer was going to the aid of a colleague who he believed was being attacked. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST The shooting shocked many in the city and sparked protests. Protesters called the day of the shooting, which also marked the 70th anniversary of Communist rule in China, a “day of sadness.” Tsang was summoned to appear in a district court in December 2020, charged with rioting and assaulting a police officer. When he did not appear, the court issued a warrant for his arrest. On Thursday, the four men appeared in the district courts. Local media reported that Chang did not apply for bail and was taken into custody. The other three face charges related to the protests.
