Hong Kong protests: convicted Asian Games representative launches campaign to raise HK$500,000 for ailing parents
- Beach volleyball player Yeung Pok-man jailed for nine weeks for assaulting a police officer during a citywide demonstration in November
- Yeung’s father suffers from chronic diabetes and was diagnosed with liver cancer two years ago, while his mother has been battling depression
The 29-year-old, who will not serve his sentence immediately after being released pending an appeal, made the financial request on social media. He was a physical education teacher in a primary school before the incident but was fired in July after he was found guilty of the offence in June.
Yeung said he would only use the money for his parents’ medical expenses and daily necessities as he now faces imprisonment.
“I still have a long hearing process and have no other choice but to do this [crowdfunding] for the sake of helping my parents,” he said.
Yeung’s father suffers from chronic diabetes and was diagnosed with liver cancer two years ago, while his mother has been battling depression for more than a decade. Yeung has been the family’s breadwinner.
Yeung represented Hong Kong at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia where he and partner Chui Kam-lung finished third in the group but failed to reach the knockout stage.
He said when he was arrested by the police on November 11 for the incident, he was supposed to represent Hong Kong in an international tournament in the Philippines on the same week. But he was forced to withdraw as he was sent to hospital for treatment to injuries caused during his arrest.
“I must say sorry … the 2018 Jakarta Games may have been the last time I represent Hong Kong in the Asian Games. I now face jail for no reason and an uncertain future. I dare not to talk about the Asian Games and anything about my Olympic dream,” he said.
Yeung became the first schoolteacher convicted over the unrest sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill in June last year. On November 11, during a citywide strike by protesters, Yeung was accused of slowing traffic at an elevated roundabout on So Kwun Po Road in Sheung Shui as part of a demonstration that morning.
The teacher was said to have resisted officers after being told to leave his car and kicked a sergeant in the abdomen.
