Tanya Chan Appears In Court Over Bar Gathering

Barrister and former Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan appeared in court on Thursday, charged with violating coronavirus control measures over a gathering at a bar back in April.

Chan was spotted at an event with dozens of others in Sham Shui Po, at a time when public gatherings were limited to four people.

She had explained that she was attending a meeting with around 40 bar industry representatives in her capacity as a legislator.

But pro-Beijing groups staged protests over the alleged incident, and there were calls for her to be disbarred.

Police weren't at the scene to issue penalty notices on the night in question, but they later announced that they were investigating.

The authorities can opt to take people to court rather than issue HK$2,000 fines for alleged breaches of the gathering limit, and Chan now faces a much larger fine of HK$25,000 or up to six months in prison.

The former Civic Party legislator was not asked to enter a plea during the hearing at Kowloon Magistrates' Court and the case was adjourned until December 10.

The head of the Small and Medium Restaurant Federation, Gordon Lam, also faces the same charge as Chan.

Meanwhile, Chan Wai-choi, who was in charge of the bar, is accused of knowingly allowing a prohibited gathering to take place there.