Missing Hong Kong Bookseller Appears Weeping And Confessing On China State Television

by Diana Tomale / Jan 20, 2016 04:09 PM EST

Missing Hong Kong bookseller said he voluntarily return to China to surrender to authorities for crime committed 11 years ago. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

A missing Hong Kong bookseller appeared on Chinese state television Sunday giving an apparent confession about a past offense he reportedly committed in China. Gui Minhai said he returned in the country to surrender after committing a serious drunk driving accident 11 years ago, The Telegraph reported Sunday.

The Swedish national is a co-owner of Mighty Current Media. He went missing from his apartment in Thailand last October, which sparked alarm that he might have been captured by Chinese agents because of his publications.

"Turning myself in is a voluntary choice of my own, and has nothing to do with anybody else," the 51-year-old bookseller said while weeping, as per Xinhua Sunday. "This is my due responsibility. I do not want anyone or any institution to be involved or get in the way of my returning, nor do I want any malicious media hype."

Gui went on, "Although I now hold the Swedish citizenship, deep down I still think of myself as a Chinese. My roots are in China. I hope the Swedish authorities would respect my personal choices, my rights and my privacy, and allow myself to deal with my own issues."

Chinese authorities said they are working with investigators to look into Gui's record who was reportedly linked to other misdemeanors.

"I am taking my legal responsibilities, and am willing to accept any punishment," Gui said.

Gui was sentenced to a two-year imprisonment after he was arrested on alleged drunk driving in August 2004. The incident resulted to the death of a female college student after she was reportedly hit by Gui who was allegedly driving above the legal limit of drunk driving.

"I was scared and afraid of jail terms [back in 2006]. And with that [drunk driving] incident, I knew there was no future for me in the country. So I thought I'd better get going," he revealed.

"There is no home for me. I was tortured, psychologically. I had nightmares and suffered from hypertension and heart diseases. It is unbearable," Gui told the state-run agency.