• Plea for information on official flight operating soon before mainland coastguard’s interception of boat carrying those wanted for protest-related crimes
• Police deny any involvement in the capture of the fleeing residents, city leader accuses activists of smearing the force

South Chins Morning Post
Date: 8 Oct, 2020
By: Jack Lau and Danny Lee

Opposition activists have urged the Hong Kong government to disclose details about an official aircraft they say police used to monitor a speedboat carrying 12 fugitives fleeing the city to Taiwan soon before they were arrested by mainland China’s coastguard.

Campaigners for the dozen, who were trying to escape prosecution over their roles in Hong Kong’s anti-government protests

, staged a demonstration on Thursday outside the Government Flying Service (GFS) headquarters to accuse city authorities of colluding with their mainland counterparts over the sea capture.

Citing leaked information obtained from a whistle-blower, the group of activists and family members of the detained Hongkongers said a government plane was flying on August 23 under police orders off the coast near Po Toi O Village in Sai Kung, which police previously gave as the location from where the speedboat departed at 7am that day.  [FULL  STORY]