Church Says Its HSBC Bank Account Has Been Frozen

The Good Neighbourhood North District Church on Monday claimed its HSBC bank account, and those of its Pastor Roy Chan and his wife, had been frozen.

In an open letter to the bank, it described the move as political retaliation for work by some of its volunteers in support of anti-government protesters. It said mainly elderly and middle-aged volunteers of one of its groups, "Safeguard Our Generation", had offered what it described as humanitarian aid to front-line protesters.

The church said it had become a charity in 2016 and the freezing of the account would affect its social work, including the provision of hostel places.

The church's claim comes after the self-exiled former Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui, and his family, had money in their accounts frozen.

Police said on Monday that freezing the bank accounts of Hui and his family was the responsible thing to do after the former Democratic Party lawmaker absconded.

The force said it was looking into whether Hui had embezzled around HK$850,000 collected through crowd-funding for private prosecutions, including a case against a police officer who shot a student in the abdomen during last year's protests.

Hui announced last week during a trip to Denmark that he would not be returning to Hong Kong where he was facing prosecution in relation to various protests. From Denmark, he travelled on to the UK.

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