Another Hongkonger returns home after release from Southeast Asia labour camp

One more victim from Hong Kong has returned safely to the city after being released from a forced labour camp in Southeast Asia, bringing down the number of missing people to 11, the security minister has said.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung on Thursday also met representatives of the Thai consulate in Hong Kong to thank them for helping Hongkongers who were locked up in Southeast Asia as both sides discussed rescue plans.

“We subsequently confirm that one of the stranded Hongkongers has taken a return flight to Hong Kong and has been received by our colleagues from the Security Bureau, police and the Immigration Department at the airport,” he wrote on social media.

“My team and I will continue to follow up and hope all Hongkongers can get home safe.”

A total of 12 victims from the city were stranded at scam centres in Thai-Myanmar or Myanmar-Laos border areas, according to the Security Bureau.

The release came days after the bureau sent a task force to Thailand to step up efforts to rescue victims who had been scammed and sent to countries like Myanmar and Cambodia.