A 60-year-old British teacher has disappeared after crossing the border from Hong Kong to Shenzhen over two weeks ago, according to sources close to him.
Family and friends of Hilary St John Bower fear that the teacher’s disappearance may be connected to a HKD9 million sale he was expecting to make on a mainland property, SCMP reports.
The 60-year-old is believed to have crossed the border into China via Lo Wu Control Point on March 22 on his way to his Shenzhen home, where his girlfriend and six-year-old son reside.
A spokesperson for the Hong Kong Police Force said a woman filed a missing persons report at Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station on March 30, and said her 60-year-old boyfriend hadn’t been seen since March 21.
Bower’s brother has since reported the teacher’s disappearance to police in the UK, who have allegedly attempted to get information from mainland authorities through Interpol.
A friend of Bower’s, Richard Charles, told the SCMP, “[Hilary] was on his way to see his son. There was no reason for him to disappear.”
Charles added that Bower had bought “at the bottom of the property market” years ago, and was expecting to make a sale “in the region of HKD9 million” for a property he recently sold in Shekou.
British diplomats in Hong Kong and Guangzhou are working on the case, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London has issued a statement to say it is collaborating with local authorities.
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