38 arrested in Hong Kong bar raid over alcohol licence breaches and social-distancing violations
- Police swooped in on industrial block in Kwai Chung at 1am, rounding up 21 men and 17 women
- Another similar move a day earlier involved 12 patrons and an operator detained in Sham Shui Po commercial building
Hong Kong police arrested 38 people during a raid on a suspected unlicensed bar in a Kwai Chung industrial building in the early hours of Saturday, with 36 among the group issued tickets for violating social-distancing rules.
Acting on intelligence, officers of the Kwai Tsing police district anti-triad action team converged on Wah Tat Industrial Centre on Wah Sing Street at 1am and arrested 21 men and 17 women, aged 14 to 38.
Among them, a 29-year-old man, in charge of the premises, and a 19-year-old male staff member were held on suspicion of “unlicensed sale of alcoholic beverages” and “unlicensed possession of alcoholic beverages for sales purposes”.
The remaining 36 suspects were arrested over drinking on premises without a liquor licence.
“The entire group was also suspected of violating the Prevention and Control of Disease [act] ... and police will prosecute them,” a force spokesman said. The Post was told the arrested bar patrons had triad backgrounds.
During the operation, officers seized about 50 bottles of alcohol and some 30 cans of beer, with a total market value of about HK$20,000.