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Police officers on Tuesday cordon off the area where a fatal triad brawl broke out over a local bar’s midnight closing time. Photo: Felix Wong
Hong KongLaw and Crime

Two arrested in connection with fatal triad brawl sparked by Hong Kong bar’s midnight closure under coronavirus rules

  • The suspects include a 40-year-old man and a 25-year-old female Japanese passport holder
  • The brawl broke out in the wee hours of Tuesday morning after bar patrons, believed to be Wo Shing Wo triad members, refused to leave at midnight
Crime in Hong Kong
Danny Mok
Danny Mok
Why you can trust SCMP
Two people, including a Japanese passport holder, have been arrested in connection with a fatal brawl that broke out in the wee hours of Tuesday morning between two triad gangs over the midnight closure of a Tsim Sha Tsui bar mandated under the city’s Covid-19 social-distancing rules.

Police on Tuesday night arrested a 40-year-old man and a 25-year-old foreign woman with a Japanese passport in Tseung Kwan O and Kowloon City, respectively, after the fight inside the mezzanine-level pub on Austin Road left a staff member dead and three others injured.

The bar, allegedly controlled by a 14K-associated gang, is located inside a commercial building just 300 metres (984 feet) away from the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station.

A dispute ensued when staff asked more than 10 customers to leave, only for patrons occupying one of the rooms to refuse. Under the city’s social-distancing rules, all pubs and entertainment venues must be shut by midnight. There were five employees working at the time of the incident.
Blood stains are visible at the scene of a triad brawl that broke out at a Tsim Sha Tsui bar early Tuesday. Photo: Felix Wong

A police source previously said the customers were suspected members of the Wo Shing Wo triad, and some had worked as bouncers at the pub when it was still run by their faction.

Four staff members were injured in the brawl, with one knocked unconscious after being struck in the head with glass bottles and a stool.

Police have said that the fight broke out around 12.30am after some members of the two parties bumped into one another, prompting the gangs to clash.

Bar employee killed as midnight closure sparks wild triad brawl in Tsim Sha Tsui

The four injured employees, including the unconscious man, 36, were found inside the pub and taken to a hospital. The 36-year-old later died.

Police have been hunting more than 20 suspected members of the 14K and Wo Shing Wo triads in connection with the clash.

The arrested man and woman have been detained for further enquiries, and an investigation by the Kowloon West regional crime unit is under way.

Police appealed to witnesses or anyone with information to contact them at 3661 8251.

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