A Hong Kong court has remanded a 15-year-old charged for vandalising the grave and headstone of the band Beyond’s lead singer Wong Ka-kui, as the student committed the alleged offence while on bail for another criminal case.
But co-defendant Yip Tsz-to, 23, an air-conditioning technician, was granted bail by Acting Principal Magistrate Winnie Lau Yee-wan after the pair was brought to Kwun Tong Court on Tuesday to face a joint count of criminal damage.
The court was told that the minor had autism and required special care in school, while his relationship with co-defendant Yip was not spelt out.
The two videos that went viral on social media last Sunday morning showed them vandalising the site, including one of the men kicking and beating the rock singer’s portrait, as well as throwing and kicking tribute items off a platform on the grave.
The pair were arrested after the staff of the cemetery made a police report on the same day.
Prosecutors on Tuesday asked the two accused what their plea was, but agreed to the defence’s application for a six-week adjournment after the defendants asked for time to review legal documents and receive further legal advice.
Both defendants had applied for bail through separate legal representatives.
The prosecution did not object to Yip’s request but urged the court to deny the minor’s, given the latter had committed the alleged offence while he was on bail for another pending criminal case to be heard in West Kowloon Court.
Magistrate Lau released Yip with several conditions: a HK$5,000 (US$640) cash bail, the surrender of his travel documents within 24 hours and a requirement to report to a police station twice a week.
Yip is also forbidden from returning to the cemetery or getting in touch with prosecution witnesses, and is required to stay in Hong Kong and alert police if he has to change his current residential address in Wong Tai Sin.
Lau said the court decided to reject the boy’s application for bail after “careful consideration”, ordering him to be remanded in Tuen Mun Children and Juvenile Home.
He will be brought to court on May 29 for a bail review hearing.
Lau adjourned the case and asked both defendants to return before June 25 for a second hearing.
