Hong Kong woman who attended high-profile party found guilty of misleading health officials tracing Covid cases

Court rejects Celia Wong’s defence that she gave inaccurate information concerning her movements before party for Witman Hung in 2022 due to dementia
Deputy magistrate adjourns sentencing until early March, pending assessment of defendant’s suitability for community service

Hong Kong courts

Brian Wong

Published: 6:27pm, 12 Jan 2024

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A marketing executive was found guilty on Friday of misleading health officials tracing Covid-19 patients linked to an infamous birthday party in early 2022 with a guest list boasting top Hong Kong officials and lawmakers.

Kowloon City Court rejected the defence from Celia Wong Sze-nga, who is also a member of the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association’s youth committee, that she provided inaccurate information because she had dementia.

The 38-year-old was convicted of four counts of knowingly giving false information to a health officer for hiding that she had visited a supermarket and met friends at a social gathering only hours before attending the party thrown for Witman Hung Wai-man, a former delegate to the country’s legislature, on January 3 of that year.

Celia Wong (second left) and Witman Hung (centre) attend the party. Photo: Handout

Deputy Magistrate Ophelia Yap Ching-ching adjourned sentencing until early March, pending an assessment of the defendant’s suitability for community service. The court also held the accused on a HK$1,000 (US$127) bond and barred her from leaving Hong Kong.

Hung’s birthday party developed into a scandal when it emerged that dozens of senior officials and legislators were among the 225 guests at the host venue in Wan Chai that evening, just days before it was announced that social-distancing measures would be tightened to combat a rise in Covid-19 cases.

Wong was the first guest at the party to test positive for the coronavirus.

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Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, the home affairs minister at the time, was the most high-profile official to attend and resigned later that month.

A court also fined the operator of the venue, the Reserva Iberica Tapas Bar and Cafe, HK$6,000 for breaching Covid-19 regulations at catering premises.

At Wong’s trial last year, the court heard that Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, and two Department of Health nurses had asked the defendant to recount her itinerary on January 3, 2022.

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Wong maintained in those conversations that she left her residence in Causeway Bay at around 9pm and took a taxi to the restaurant, where she stayed for about half an hour.

But CCTV footage disproved her account and showed she did not leave her home at the stated time.

In a subsequent interview with health officials, she admitted to visiting a supermarket in Central’s IFC Mall and meeting her friends in Sai Ying Pun before joining the party.

Knowingly giving false information to a health officer is punishable by up to six months in jail and a HK$10,000 fine.

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