Hong Kong woman who attended scandal-hit birthday party of Witman Hung sentenced to 160 hours of community service for misleading health officials tracing Covid
- Celia Wong misled officials by hiding fact she had visited supermarket and met friends only hours before attending party thrown for Witman Hung on January 3, 2022
- ‘Not only did she pose a great risk of infection on others, but she also threatened our public health as a whole,’ Magistrate Ophelia Yap says
Magistrate Ophelia Yap Ching-ching of Kowloon City Court imposed the non-custodial sentence on Celia Wong Sze-nga, 38, on Monday after finding her guilty of four counts of knowingly giving false information to health officials.
“Not only did she pose a great risk of infection on others, but she also threatened our public health as a whole,” Yap said. “The court should impose a deterrent sentence for such a serious offence.”
Wong misled health officials by hiding the fact she had visited a supermarket and met friends at a social gathering only hours before attending the party thrown for Witman Hung Wai-man, a former deputy to the country’s legislature, on January 3, 2022.
Dozens of senior officials, legislators and more than 200 guests were invited to Hung’s birthday party, held in Wan Chai, just days before the government announced that social-distancing measures would be tightened to combat a rise in Covid-19 cases.
Authorities subsequently reduced the seating capacity of each restaurant table to a maximum of two to six people, depending on the catering premises.
Wong was the first guest at the party to test positive for the virus.
Hong Kong party-goer found guilty of misleading officials tracing Covid cases
Under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Disclosure of Information) Regulation, Wong’s offence is punishable by up to six months in jail and a HK$10,000 (US$1,277) fine.
Before passing the sentence, Yap said she had taken into consideration Wong’s clear record and contribution to society in the cultural and art sectors. Wong was the manager of a performing arts school, according to her mitigation plea.
Wong appeared during her session with the probation officer to be fit for community service. She also expressed remorse and hoped for rehabilitation.
She said she had been suffering from emotional disorder since her positive test result and the media coverage and online discussion surrounding her.
At Wong’s trial last year, the court heard that Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, and two Department of Health nurses had asked the defendant to recount her itinerary on January 3, 2022.
Wong maintained in those conversations that she left her residence in Causeway Bay at around 9pm and took a taxi to the restaurant where the party was held. She said she stayed at the venue for about half an hour.
But CCTV footage disproved her account and showed she did not leave her home at the time she claimed.
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Yap rejected Wong’s defence that she was not aware of the identity of these health officials who had approached her. She also said she had dementia, which was also rejected by Yap.
