Hong Kong singer Tommy Yuen Man-on has been arrested for allegedly stealing snacks from a supermarket, the Post has learned.
Yuen, a former member of the defunct Cantopop boy band E-kids, was arrested on Wednesday after he was spotted acting suspiciously by patrolling officers in To Kwa Wan, police said.
He allegedly stole items from a Wellcome supermarket and was carrying a credit card belonging to someone else, a police spokesman said.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting. The case is being handled by the Kowloon City district investigation team.
Yuen allegedly took 11 items, including bottled drinks, packets of candy, biscuits and coated peanuts, valued at about HK$140 (US$18).
Officers also confirmed that the credit card in his possession belonged to a friend, who was contacted to retrieve it at the police station.
Yuen, 45, previously served 26 months in jail for insulting police and officials and fabricating a fundraising story.
In May last year, Yuen wrote a Facebook post saying that he had decided to leave Hong Kong after facing weekly contact with national security police following his early release from jail in September 2023.
He said the frequent questioning caused him fear and distress, leading him to worry about being sent back to prison.
In the May 1 Facebook post, Yuen said: “I have finally left Hong Kong and started living in the United Kingdom!”
The father of two also expressed determination to work hard in the UK and continue pursuing music, creating content, posting on social media and starting a YouTube channel.
“I believe that I won’t or won’t be able to go back to my beloved Hong Kong any more in my lifetime, as it continues to deteriorate day by day,” he had said.
However, he was seen in the city in December.
Yuen was arrested by national security police in February 2022, charged within 48 hours and kept in custody until his trial.
In a court hearing in July 2023, he admitted to breaching a colonial-era sedition law by insulting police and officials on social media, as well as laundering more than HK$700,000 that he had raised by fabricating a story about a teenager facing a riot trial over her involvement in the anti-government protests of 2019.
Two months later, he was sentenced to 26 months in jail. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
