MTR wants Hong Kong police to reopen probe into graffiti attacks on trains
Subway operator believes fugitive US pair known as Utah and Ether vandalised trains on three occasions in 2011, 2012 and 2015, and says fencing, patrols and surveillance have since been upgraded
After a video was released this week showing two fugitive US graffiti artists spray-painting subway trains in Hong Kong, the MTR Corporation has urged the city’s police force to investigate the crimes again.
The subway operator says it is believed the artists known as Utah and Ether vandalised trains on three separate occasions - July 7, 2011 (in the network’s Chai Wan depot); April 8, 2012 (in the Kowloon Bay depot); and on March 9, 2015 (on a train running on the Tseung Kwan O line). The video uploaded on July 11 shows the artists entering the train depots in Chai Wan and Kowloon Bay after cutting through razor wire and painting trains with slogans such as “crime time”.
“We reported each case to the police after they were discovered and it’s up to the police to decide what charges to bring, and up to the courts to decide whether they are guilty,” said Jasmine Law, the MTR Corp’s senior public relations executive. “But we hope that the police will look at the cases again now that this video has been released.”
Kendrew Wong, the MTR’s media relations manager, said fencing, surveillance systems and patrols were all upgraded after the incidents involving the American artists.
The Post is still waiting for the Hong Kong police to respond to the MTR’s request for an investigation.