Former Hong Kong beach volleyball player arrested on money-laundering charges

Yeung Pok-man, 30, was detained for allegedly laundering HK$5.8 million following crowdfunding campaign to raise HK$500,000 for his ailing parents

Officers have frozen HK$5.07 million in his bank account and seized his phone, bank cards and statements

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Published: 3:41pm, 16 Nov 2020Updated: 12:23am, 17 Nov 2020

A former Hong Kong beach volleyball player and primary school teacher, who was convicted of assaulting a police officer during last year’s social unrest, was arrested on Sunday for allegedly laundering HK$5.8 million (US$748,000) following his crowdfunding campaign to raise HK$500,000 for his ailing parents.

Yeung Pok-man, 30, was jailed for nine weeks in September for kicking an officer in Sheung Shui during a citywide strike by anti-government protesters on November 11 last year.

He was the first teacher to be convicted over the unrest sparked in June last year by the now-withdrawn extradition bill. Yeung was dismissed by his school.

He did not need to serve his sentence immediately as he was released pending an appeal.

The police’s financial investigation division revealed on Monday that officers suspected Yeung to have converted cash using his bank account in which HK$5.87 million was received between September 8 and October 24. The sum of money was 10 times more than the target he had set.

Investigators were also looking into two properties worth HK$13 million in total and owned by Yeung and his family.