Songkran water-splashing event in Hong Kong’s ‘Little Thailand’ to be moved to basketball courts instead of traditional South Wall Road site
- Those who want to take part next Saturday and Sunday will have to sign up beforehand, with number of participants limited, Kowloon City district officer says
- Last year, three men were charged with assault after they allegedly soaked police officers and reporters with water guns during event
The Songkran festival’s water-splashing portion in Hong Kong’s “Little Thailand” will be moved from its traditional site to basketball courts in Kowloon City next week for the first time, following the arrest last year of three men for soaking police officers and reporters at the event.
Those who wanted to take part next Saturday and Sunday would also have to sign up beforehand and there would be limits on the number of participants, Kowloon City district officer Alice Choi Man-kwan said.
The water-splashing for Songkran, the Thai new year, would be held at Carpenter Road Park basketball courts instead of South Wall Road, Choi said on Saturday, in a move that upset some restaurant owners at the old venue.
Thailand’s top envoy in the city, Chaturont Chaiyakam, said some people had wanted to celebrate the festival in the old way but he appealed for understanding over the “cultural difference”.
Last year, three men were charged with assault after they allegedly soaked officers and reporters with water guns during the event.
Choi said authorities felt “relatively concerned” at the situation last year and that it was “not ideal”.