Afraid to go home since election day, ‘king of votes’ Eddie Chu gets round-the-clock police protection over death threat

Police on Thursday placed the biggest winner in Sunday’s Legislative Council elections under round-the-clock protection after he complained of “imminent” death threats against him and his family in the past few days.

Eddie Chu Hoi-dick confirmed on Thursday night that he was staying at a secret location he had arranged for himself and was under constant police watch. His daughter had also stopped going to school as a precaution, he said.

The threats against Chu, a long-time environmental activist, could be linked to people he might have upset while campaigning on issues such as changes in land use in the New Territories and an illegal dumping case in Tin Shui Wai, according to sources.

With his lawyer and two other newly elected localists, Lau Siu-lai and Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Chu made a report on Thursday at police headquarters in Wan Chai.

“I have faced threats against myself and my family since I announced my bid for Legco,” he told the media. “They have escalated into an imminent death threat since I was elected.”

Chu, 38, complained he and his family were unable to return home because of the threat.