Hong Kong police, undercover health inspectors raid film screening at opposition district councillor’s office
- Forty-seven attendees ticketed for flouting social-distancing rules in raid Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Chu Kong-wa calls ‘political prosecution’
- Commerce minister Edward Yau, meanwhile, dismisses concerns over looming censorship changes, saying just one of 400 films recently submitted was rejected
A Food and Environmental Health Department spokesman confirmed the law enforcement action on Saturday, saying it had received complaints about a “public screening” inside a commercial building unit being held without a proper entertainment licence.
In all, 47 attendees were charged with flouting the city’s Covid-19 ban on groups larger than four people in a “public place”. Each would be fined HK$5,000, the spokesman added.
The event was held at the office of Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Chu Kong-wai in Mong Kok and started at 7.30pm on Friday night. Award-winning Hong Kong director Kiwi Chow Kwun-wai was there to talk about his film Beyond the Dream after it was screened.
According to Chu, the gathering, which had not been promoted online, was for “friends only” and should have been treated as a “private event”. He confirmed about 40 people were present when the inspectors showed up at his office at 9.30pm.