Sweden’s top diplomat in Hong Kong hurls insults at bar staff in FCC table row

Sweden's top diplomat in Hong Kong, a 19-year veteran in foreign affairs, has apologised for verbally abusing staff at the exclusive Foreign Correspondents' Club in Central during a heated argument over a table.

Jorgen Halldin, Sweden's consul general in Hong Kong and Macau since September 2011, confirmed the incident last night.

"You are correctly informed that I got upset at my most recent visit to the FCC, for which I am very sorry," he told the South China Morning Post. "There is never an excuse for being upset, and I regret this deeply. I have the highest regard for the FCC, of which I have been a member for about a year, and this was a highly unfortunate incident."

The unruly episode last month has prompted the club to send a memo to members this week to remind them that antics that were acceptable "three or four decades ago" will no longer be tolerated.

The club is preparing new policies that will "stamp out behaviour that crosses the line".

Halldin lost his temper after he turned up at the club on Lower Albert Road with a group of 12 people, according to several sources at the club.