Hong Kong man charged with loitering after allegedly splashing unknown liquid on 3 women

2026-02-23 - 23:34

A 34-year-old man has been charged with loitering after allegedly splashing an unknown liquid on three women in separate incidents in Sha Tin. The Hong Kong Police Force headquarters in Wan Chai. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. The defendant, a chef surnamed Cheung, appeared at the Shatin Magistrates’ Courts on Monday. He was denied bail, and his case was adjourned to April 10, local media reported. The prosecution said it was awaiting further police investigation and reports from the government laboratory, which tested the liquid that was splashed onto one of the women. Tests could not be done for the other two women as the liquid had already been wiped off, the prosecution added. The man was apprehended for a second time on Saturday after two women filed police reports, prompting officers to review large amounts of CCTV footage in Sha Tin, the force said on Sunday. He was previously arrested in January for alleged common assault, after a woman reported to police on Christmas Day that she felt an unknown liquid on her hair while walking on a footbridge over Mei Tin Road and Hung Mui Kuk Road. A footbridge near Mei Tin Road and Hung Mui Kuk Road in Tai Wai. Screenshot: Google Street View. After that first arrest, the suspect was released pending further police investigation. Last week, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, police received a report from a woman who felt liquid on her hair while walking through Lung Hang Estate. Two days later, on Thursday, police received another report, this time from a woman who had been passing Che Kung Miu Playground when she discovered liquid on her hair. Police said the man, who lives in Sha Tin, was arrested on Saturday morning for loitering. He was detained for investigation. It is believed that the man did not know the three women. Under the Crimes Ordinance, loitering that causes “any person reasonably to be concerned for [their] safety or well-being” is punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment. This is not the first time such incidents have occurred in recent years. In 2024, an Instagram page was set up detailing incidents in which women were reportedly splashed with an unknown liquid while walking on the streets. The act has been labelled as a kind of sexual violence. In July 2024, a man was jailed for four months after pleading guilty to three counts of common assault in connection with attacks on three women in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay.