Hong Kong security officials caught violating coronavirus rules have paid the price, Lam says, urging public to move on from scandal
- Customs chief, immigration director and security undersecretary suffered blow to their reputations, city leader says, while fines proved no favouritism was at play
- But opposition councillor accuses chief executive of ‘embarrassing’ softness on the subject and calls for probe into whether other rules governing officials were violated
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the fining of the trio had, in fact, proven everyone was equal before the law, as the penalty had been imposed months after the dinner, when officers probing a criminal case uncovered their violations.
The three – Commissioner of Customs and Excise Hermes Tang Yi-hoi, Director of Immigration Au Ka-wang and Undersecretary for Security Sonny Au Chi-kwong – only publicly admitted they were among the guests at the private event last Thursday following a media exposé that sparked widespread accusations of preferential treatment.
Their participation in the March 2 banquet in Wan Chai was uncovered when police investigating an alleged attempted rape obtained a copy of the guest list, with media reports suggesting at least one senior executive of a mainland company was also among the nine people fined.
The three men released statements on Thursday apologising for their presence at the hotpot dinner and admitting they had violated the city’s rules on public gatherings, which allowed no more than four persons per table at the time.