Coronavirus: staff arrested as another Hong Kong bar raided, but customers let go for maintaining social distancing
- ‘They occupied nine tables and each table had less than four people. The space between each table also met requirements,’ police explain
- The raid was part of a five-day sweep of the Tsim Sha Tsui area, where other late-night bars have recently been busted
The operators and staff of a Tsim Sha Tsui pub raided in the early hours of Friday were arrested for breaching the city’s mandatory closure of bars, though their customers escaped prosecution for the drinking session as they were complying with social-distancing measures.
While Hong Kong is in the midst of a 14-day shutdown designed to stem the spread of Covid-19, the pub, on the third floor of a commercial building on Cameron Road, was still in operation when police came through the door.
Superintendent Alan Chung of the Kowloon West regional crime unit said 25 customers were found drinking in the 2,000 sq ft venue.
“They occupied nine tables and each table had less than four people. The space between each table also met requirements,” he said.
“So they were not in breach of the prohibited gathering rules. They were allowed to leave.”
