• Asia.China confirms that the missing British consulate employee in Hong Kong is being held
  • Direct witness: The Hong Kong crisis divides its population: "Protesters are beasts, terrorists"

An employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong has been arrested in China for "visiting prostitutes," the state-backed Global Times newspaper said Thursday, while the United Kingdom says it remains urgently seeking information.

China's Foreign Ministry confirmed Wednesday that the employee, Simon Cheng, had been arrested in the border city of Shenzhen, a neighbor of Hong Kong.

In a report on its website in English, the newspaper, published by the People's Daily official of the Communist Party, quoted the Shenzhen police as saying that Cheng had been detained for 15 days for "participation in prostitution."

Shenzhen Luohu District Police said Cheng had violated Article 66 of the law on administrative sanctions for public safety, he added.

The law establishes that people who work in prostitution, or who visit prostitutes, are detained for a period of 10 to 15 days, and can also receive a fine of 5,000 yuan (about 600 euros).

Shenzhen police sent Reuters to the Global Times report, saying it contained all the relevant details, and declined to comment further.

In a statement, the UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was "urgently seeking more information on Simon's case."

He added: " Neither we nor Simon's family have been able to talk to him since his arrest . That is our priority and we continue to raise Simon's case in China, Hong Kong and London and we have tried to contact him."

Cheng did not return to work on August 9 after visiting the mainland city of Shenzhen the day before, Hong Kong news website HK01 said, citing a conversation between him and his girlfriend and family.

Cheng's family confirmed his disappearance on Facebook on Tuesday night, saying he traveled from Hong Kong to Shenzhen on the morning of August 8 for a business trip.

Hong Kong has been affected by anti-government protests in recent weeks, and China accused Britain and other Western countries of meddling in their affairs.

Britain, the United States and other countries have urged China to respect the formula of "one country, two systems" under which Hong Kong returned from British rule to Chinese in 1997

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