Arrest warrant issued for former star singer Tommy Yuen, who says he has left Hong Kong

A Hong Kong magistrate has issued a warrant for the arrest of singer Tommy Yuen Man-on after he failed to appear in court to answer a shoplifting charge.

Yuen, a former member of the defunct Cantopop boy band E-kids, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday night he had already left Hong Kong and had never thought of appearing in court.

He was due to appear in Kowloon City Court on a count of theft for allegedly stealing HK$144.50 (US$18.40) worth of snacks and drinks from a supermarket last month.

According to the indictment, the 45-year-old stole six bottles of Coke, tea and water, as well as sweets, potato chips, biscuits and peanuts from the Wellcome supermarket chain at Ma Tau Kok Road on June 18.

He was detained for 10 hours before police released him on HK$500 bail pending the court hearing.

Magistrate Philip Chan Chee-fai granted the prosecutors’ request for an arrest warrant after confirming the defendant had not engaged a duty lawyer to handle the case.

Chan said his preliminary view was to extend Yuen’s bail after he appeared in court, but that he would raise the defendant’s bail to HK$3,000.

In May last year, the singer claimed on social media he would move to Britain for good and that he would not “go back to my beloved Hong Kong any more in my lifetime, as it continues to deteriorate day by day”. He was seen in the city last December.

The charge sheet provides a location in Kowloon City as Yuen’s current address. - South China Morning Post