Fans of British, US musicians arrested in Hong Kong raise HK$68,000 to pay for return trip to face immigration officials

Crowdfunding drive to cover cost of TTNG and Mylets’ return to city to learn whether they face prosecution exceeds HK$50,000 target within 24 hours; fans still split on who to blame for their arrest

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TTNG are suspected to have breached their conditions of stay in Hong Kong and must report back to immigration officials on June 5.

Published: 12:13pm, 15 May 2017Updated: 12:13pm, 15 May 2017

Fans of the British and American musicians arrested at indie Hong Kong venue Hidden Agenda this month for performing without visas have raised the funds they need to pay for their return to Hong Kong next month, when they’ll discover if they will be charged with a criminal offence.

British band This Town Needs Guns (TTNG) and American musician Mylets last Friday launched a drive on crowdfunding site GoFundMe to raise £5,000 (HK$50,190) to cover their travelling costs. The target was reached within 24 hours, with many of the donations coming from Hong Kong. By Monday morning, the amount raised had hit £6,740.

Mylets will also need to report back to Hong Kong immigration officials on June 5.

The three members of TTNG and multi-instrumentalist Mylets were detained in a dramatic raid on May 7 by immigration officials and police equipped with riot shields and dogs. They are suspected to have breached their conditions of stay in Hong Kong by performing at the Kwun Tong venue without work visas.

Foreign musicians, club owner and two others arrested at Hong Kong indie music venue are released on bail

All four were released on bail on May 8 and told to report back to immigration officials on June 5, and were allowed to leave Hong Kong in the meantime. TTNG returned to the UK on May 9 and Mylets to the US on May 10.

Three other people arrested at the same time – Hidden Agenda founder Hui Chung-wo, a club employee and an audience member – were also released from police custody on May 8 and must report back to police next month to discover whether or not they will face charges.