British tourist arrested over damaging check-in kiosks at Hong Kong airport released on HK$5,000 bail

2026-02-20 - 10:05

A British tourist charged with criminal damage and drug possession after a viral video showed him damaging check-in kiosks at the Hong Kong International Airport has been released on HK$5,000 bail. The Departure Hall at Hong Kong International Airport. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Youcef Bennoui, 35, appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday following his arrest on Monday. Earlier this week, viral social media footage showed a man pushing over kiosks at the airport’s departure hall and smashing them with a metal post. Bennoui was charged with criminal damage and possession of a Part 1 poison. According to the prosecution, on Monday, he damaged 10 self-check-in kiosks at Aisle J of the airport’s departure hall, a metal display shelf, a metal stand, a glass panel, and an electric baggage tractor, local media reported. The prosecution also alleged he was found with drugs in his possession. According to police, officers found four Viagra pills, a prescription drug used to treat impotence, in his backpack. A screenshot of a video showing a man smashing a self-service check-in kiosk with a metal post at the Hong Kong International Airport on February 16, 2026. Photo: Screenshot, via Threads. Magistrate Shirley Cornelia Hung released Bennoui on HK$5,000 bail and required him to report daily to a police station and live at a fixed address. The case has been adjourned to April 15. Under Hong Kong law, criminal damage is punishable by up to 10 years in jail, while possession of a Part 1 poison is punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment and a HK$100,000 fine. Jail terms handed down in a magistrate’s court, however, are capped at a maximum of two years. Local media reported earlier this week that the man came to Hong Kong in November and was planning to buy a flight ticket to leave the city on Monday. He reportedly was emotionally unstable when he arrived at Aisle J of Terminal 1, using his trolley to knock down railings before toppling the kiosks and damaging a glass panel. Police officers arrested him at the bus unloading area at the airport.