A British passport. (Photo : Getty Images)
A 60-year-old British university teacher who went missing for several weeks in late March has been confirmed to have been killed in China, the Hong Kong police said in a statement after being notified by Chinese authorities.
Hilary St John Bower, who worked as an English language instructor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, has been dead for more than a week after being reported missing by his girlfriend on March 30, according to the police statement.
"The victim was killed on the evening of March 22 in mainland China," the Hong Kong police said, after receiving notice from their counterparts in the Chinese mainland.
Police said they could not identify any "criminal element" in Bower's death and declined to provide any specifics including the cause of death or a possible motive, although investigations are ongoing.
Hong Kong media reported that Bower, who had a longtime girlfriend and a son in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, had often traveled between the two places.
On Tuesday, Bower's friend and colleague Richard Charles told the South China Morning Post that Bower had been linked to a pricey property sale in Shekou, an industrial zone in mainland China near the Shenzhen Bay.
"He [Bower] was expecting to be paid somewhere in the region of nine million Hong Kong dollars for a property he just sold in Shekou," Charles said.
Bower's disappearance sparked a global law enforcement alert involving the British police, Interpol and mainland China's Public Security Bureau.
"We are providing support to the family at this difficult time, and will remain in close contact with local authorities," a U.K. Foreign Office spokeswoman told the BBC.
In a statement, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University said they will render all necessary support and assistance to Bower's family and offer counseling to colleagues and students in need.
Bower had taught at Polytechnic University since 1996, according to his profile on the university website. He had previously taught in mainland China, South Korea, Thailand, Spain and Kuwait.
Murders of foreigners are rare in China, although the death of another British man, Neil Heywood, in 2011 led to one of the country's biggest political scandals in recent history.
The wife of former top Chinese leader Bo Xilai was later found guilty of killing Heywood, leading to Bo's downfall and sentencing to life in prison in 2013 for corruption.
