Australia slams reward letters seeking wanted Hong Kong activist in Melbourne

Australia has expressed concerns over anonymous letters reportedly offering a substantial reward for information on Kevin Yam Kin-fung, a wanted Hong Kong activist currently living in Melbourne.

The Post also learned on Tuesday that a family member of fugitive Tony Chung Hon-lam was brought to Kowloon West Regional Police Headquarters to assist with an ongoing investigation into suspected national security law violations.

According to a UK-based newspaper, long-time Hong Kong opposition activist Yam was the subject of letters offering a HK$1 million (US$128,700) reward for any information concerning the lawyer’s whereabouts.

Yam, an Australian citizen who previously lived in Hong Kong for 20 years before returning to the country in 2022, has been critical of the city government’s handling of the 2019 protests.

The letters include a photo of Yam and an outline of his alleged offences. They urged recipients to “take him to Hong Kong or Australia Metropolitan Police”, and were sent to homes in two areas in Melbourne that it cited as being linked to the activist.

The letters were unsigned but requested any relevant information be sent to a Hong Kong police email address used for tip-offs.