Pro-protester Church Accused Of Fraud, Two Arrested

Police on Tuesday arrested a former director and an employee of a local church that helped mediate between officers and anti-government protesters during last year's unrest, on suspicion of fraud and money laundering.

The force also said HK$25 million in five bank accounts were frozen on Monday, as part of its investigation.

Detectives allege that the Good Neighbourhood North District Church had raised HK$27 million through a number of crowd-funding drives between June last year and September this year, but publically stated that they raised less than a third of this amount.

Two other people – the church’s director and secretary, both of whom are said to have left Hong Kong in October – are wanted in connection with the investigation, police said.

Acting superintendent Chow Cheung-yau told reporters that while no one had come forward to complain about alleged fraud, police believe the suspects may have “exploited people’s generosity in the name of religion and helping young people.”

He said officers will investigate the money flow.

Hours before police announced the arrests, a pastor of the church, Roy Chan, who has travelled to the UK with his wife, said he now fears it would be impossible for them to return to Hong Kong due to safety concerns.

Chan said the freezing of the church's bank accounts had affected their volunteer services, and rendered them unable to pay the rent for their hostels for the homeless, as well as the salaries of their own social workers.