Hong Kong student detained for urging probe into deadly fire leaves police station
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Local media reported on Nov 29 that Mr Miles Kwan was arrested for “seditious intention” by national security police, citing unnamed sources.
PHOTO: AFP
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HONG KONG – A Hong Kong student who was reportedly detained by police after handing out fliers calling for an independent probe into a deadly fire that killed 146, left a police station on Dec 1.
Mr Miles Kwan left the Cheung Sha Wan Division police station in a taxi in the afternoon, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
The 24-year-old pulled down his face mask and nodded at reporters from the taxi as it drove out of the police station. He did not comment.
Mr Kwan, 24, was among several people behind a petition over the fire that broke out in high-rise towers
The petition called for government officials to be held accountable, an independent probe into possible corruption, proper resettlement for residents, and a review of construction oversight.
Local media reported on Nov 29 that Mr Kwan was arrested for “seditious intention” by national security police, citing unnamed sources.
Multiple news outlets reported late on Nov 30 that another two people, including former district councillor Kenneth Cheung, were similarly arrested.
Asked by AFP about the three cases, police declined to confirm if any arrest had been made, saying only that they “will take actions according to actual circumstances and in accordance with the law”.
Mr Kwan said Nov 28 that he was only “proposing very basic demands”.
“If these ideas are deemed seditious or ‘crossing the line’, then I feel I can’t predict the consequences of anything any more, and I can only do what I truly believe,” he told AFP at the time.
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog has arrested 11 people in connection with the blaze, with three of them also being arrested by police for manslaughter.
Mourners who turned up by the hundreds near Wang Fuk Court continued to leave notes of remembrance on Dec 1, some calling for accountability.
“Rest in peace. Hong Kongers don’t give up on freedom and truth. Don’t stop being angry,” one unsigned note read.
Another read: “Hope your deaths were not in vain. The truth must come out for your sakes.” AFP
