Democracy activist who claimed he was kidnapped and tortured by Chinese agents over signed photograph of Barcelona star Lionel Messi ‘telling lies’, say prosecutors
- Howard Lam, a founding member of the Democratic Party, made headlines when he claimed he had been abducted in August 2017
- Prosecutors argue that he made the entire episode up, and believe they have the evidence to prove it
A democracy activist who claimed he was kidnapped, drugged and tortured by mainland Chinese agents after being snatched off a busy Hong Kong street in broad daylight was following a premeditated plan, prosecutors told a court on Friday.
But, Howard Lam Tsz-kin, 42, a founding member of the Democratic Party, has denied making a false report after telling detective police constable Wong Kai-pui during an interview at Queen Mary Hospital on August 11, 2017, that he was abducted on Portland Street, between Hamilton Street and Pitt Street, in Yau Ma Tei the previous afternoon.
When asked to confirm his plea again, the activist told acting chief magistrate So Wai-tak with a head shake: “Not going to admit it, of course not.”
Prosecutor Ken Ng Kim-man said: “He was consistently telling the lies. He acted in accordance with a plan.”
In opening the six-day trial, Ng said police had scoured 1,500 hours of security footage to trace Lam’s movements on August 10 and 11. They also found in his smartphone search history a query into the effects of chloroform, despite forensic tests finding no evidence of the chemical in his blood and urine.