The failure of the victims to report the case to the Hong Kong Police had left them bereft of evidence to request the repatriation of Cheung. Hong Kong Secretary for Security Regina Ip regretted that the tycoons had reported the abductions to the PRC and not to the Hong Kong authorities. She said there was no formal cross-border agreement on the transfer of offenders, but said that it would not be unprecedented to do so. Legal experts suggested that Hong Kong courts would not be able to convict in the absence of witness or victims' testimonies or other evidence, even with a full confession, as confessions can be withdrawn. There were some who maintained that the Li and Kwok families could get their revenge on Cheung since a trial in the mainland could guarantee the death penalty, whereas capital punishment was not in force in Hong Kong.