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Coronavirus: prosecutors eye second charge for Hong Kong variant patient accused of lying to contact-tracing immigration officer
- Syed Mohamed Rizvi, an engineer visiting from Dubai, was remanded in custody following a Monday hearing at Kowloon City Court
- The 30-year-old and a female acquaintance were arrested on Saturday and are believed to be tied to a cluster of at least eight infections
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Hong Kong’s first Covid-19 patient found locally with a mutated strain of the coronavirus was remanded in custody after appearing in court on Monday, and could be charged with a second count of providing false information to authorities tasked with tracing others in his infection cluster.
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Syed Mohamed Rizvi, a 30-year-old engineer who flew in from Dubai in March, was charged with providing false information to an authorised officer. His 31-year-old female friend, whom he spent time with after completing 21 days of quarantine, was charged with failing to disclose details to authorities.
The two were arrested on Saturday.
Prosecutors told Kowloon City Court on Monday they were considering laying an additional charge of providing false information to immigration officers, based on the account that Rizvi gave early this month of his movements in April.
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Rizvi, who was discharged from hospital in late April, wore a face shield and a mask during the hearing, and the court was told he was no longer considered infectious.
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