Hong Kong cryptocurrency promoter given suspended jail sentence over ‘money from the sky’ stunt that caused chaos in poor neighbourhood
- Wong Ching-kit, 25, better known as ‘Coin Young Master’, admitted committing a nuisance in a public place
- Magistrate observes that promotional stunt could easily have turned ugly as there were up to 300 people on site
Wong Ching-kit, 25, better known as “Coin Young Master”, admitted to assisting his company’s promotion of a new cryptocurrency in Sham Shui Po on a busy Saturday afternoon last December, and pleaded guilty to one count of nuisances committed in a public place.
West Kowloon Court heard Wong was the face of two videos capturing the incident which were later uploaded to his Facebook page, Epoch Cryptocurrency.
In the first video he was seen stepping out of an orange Lamborghini parked at the junction of Fuk Wah Street and Kweilin Street.
“[I] don’t know whether any of you will believe money can fall from the sky,” he said, before turning to look at a hail of banknotes fluttering from the rooftop of Kam Wah Building on Fuk Wah Street.
Crowds immediately flocked to clamber for money while onlookers gathered to take pictures of the rare scene.
“It’s HK$100,” a man said, with expletives.
The Post previously reported that at least HK$6,000 (US$769) was tossed from the building.
Forty-five minutes later, Wong appeared in another video, in which he appealed to the audience to support his business but denied he was involved in the money dropping incident.
The text accompanying the video read: “In the future there will be money falling from the skies across different parts of Hong Kong.”
Police seized a bag from the rooftop in question and found a HK$100 banknote but could not locate the people involved in dropping the money.
They later interviewed five witnesses, who estimated there were about 100 to 300 people at the scene, which they described as chaotic – to a point that they worried about their safety. Two of them, both passers-by, also complained that the crowds had blocked car traffic and the pavements.
Wong was arrested the following day when police ambushed him at a restaurant, which he said he would visit to buy meal coupons for the needy. He remained silent under caution.
His defence lawyer said in mitigation that Wong did not know his actions would cause an obstruction and appealed for a fine as punishment, given that no one was injured in this isolated incident.
But Magistrate Leung Siu-ling observed that his promotional stunt was not ideal as the situation could easily have turned ugly when there were up to 300 people on site.
Leung also considered fines unsuitable since Wong was not a man of clear record.
So she sentenced the businessman to 10 days’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of three months’ imprisonment or a HK$500 fine.
