Top officials admit they were busted over Covid rules

A number of top government officials, including the undersecretary for security, as well as the heads of the customs and immigration departments have admitted that they were both given fixed penalty tickets back in March for flouting social distancing rules during a dinner event.

Media reports had said Commissioner of Customs and Excise Hermes Tang and Director of Immigration Au Ka-wang were caught having dinner with a group of people in a restaurant in Wan Chai, despite government rules at the time prohibiting more than four people at a table.

In two separate and identical statements issued on Thursday evening, the two department heads conceded that they were fined for violating Covid-19 rules.

“The fine has been paid and I will be more careful in abiding by the rules in future”, Tang and Au said.

Hours later, the Undersecretary for Security, Sonny Au, also admitted that he had been fined for attending the same event, saying too that he would be more careful in the future.

In response to RTHK’s inquiries, the police say it was during an investigation into another case that they found out about a dinner gathering on March 2 that resulted in nine people being given fixed penalty fines for violating a ban on group gatherings.

That case relates to a woman who said she was raped in her home on March 2.

A man was later arrested and charged with attempted rape.

The statements by the two department chiefs say the dinner was not related to an ongoing criminal case.
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Last updated: 2021-07-08 HKT 22:41