Jail for man who tried to blackmail Transformers 4 film crew

An air-conditioning technician who tried to extort HK$100,000 from a Hollywood film crew had damaged Hong Kong's reputation, a judge said as he jailed the man for 30 months yesterday.

District Court Judge Josiah Lam Wai-kuen found Mak Chi-shing, 27, guilty of blackmailing the crew of Transformers: Age of Extinction and of assaulting a police officer.

He acquitted Mak's brother, Mak Chi-hang, 29, of blackmail, but jailed him for six weeks for resisting a police officer.

The judge said the case involved a foreign film crew who had chosen to shoot in Hong Kong, and had been widely reported by the media.

"It affected the impression of security in Hong Kong as an international city," Lam said. "It might affect foreigners' [deciding whether] to travel and work in Hong Kong as well."

Lam said the younger Mak had negotiated with a crew member to get compensation of HK$1,000 to HK$2,000, but then increased the demand overnight to HK$100,000.

The judge found that the two had disrupted the crew by making a noise outside their shop in King's Road, Quarry Bay, in an attempt to disturb filming.