Clip of man spitting on HK flat doors sparks calls for action amid COVID outbreak

Danny Mok, South China Morning Post Posted at Jan 24 2022 12:58 PM Hong Kong police have launched an investigation after a man was caught on camera spitting on residents’ doors in a block of flats. The five-second clip, apparently taken by a security camera, was posted on Sunday evening on a Kwai Chung community Facebook page and shows a man in his 30s dressed in black jeans and hooded top walking along the corridor of a housing block. The man, who has what appears to be a bottle of tea in his hand, pulls down his black surgical mask and spits on the metal gates and doorbells of two flats before disappearing out of view. A message from the Facebook user who posted the video urged group members in Kwai Chung Estate – the site of a growing coronavirus outbreak – to keep an eye out for the spitter, saying similar incidents had occurred at three blocks there, although no proof was provided. More than 170 Covid-19 infections have been reported on the huge 16-block estate, with two buildings currently under five-day lockdowns for Covid-19 testing of residents in a bid to curb the escalating outbreak. A top government pandemic adviser warned on Sunday that cases would continue to be uncovered over the next two weeks after scores of residents were found to be infected with the highly transmissive Omicron variant. The Facebook user provided no details on where and when the footage was taken, but a time stamp on the clip records it as around 6.46pm on Saturday. Lawmaker Ben Chan Han-pan said he had contacted police about the incident. He slammed the spitter, accusing him of acting badly when all Hongkongers were fighting hard against the pandemic including estate residents who were under lockdown. “I’ve already suggested to the police district commander to hunt for him. If such people are let go, others may follow suit,” Chan said. A police source said investigators had yet to find out basic details about the clip. Officers were trying to identify the man and collect intelligence from frontline security guards on the estate. They were also contacting the Facebook account holder to ask for the source of the video. A police spokesman, who said no arrests had been made, called for anyone with information to come forward.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more