‘Shameless’: members of Hong Kong band Beyond outraged after 15-year-old boy, man arrested for vandalising grave of lead singer
Members of Hong Kong pop band Beyond have voiced outrage after a 15-year-old boy and a man were arrested for vandalising the grave of lead singer Wong Ka-kui, with the late star’s brother condemning the suspects as “shameless, pitiful and detestable”.
Police said they received a report from staff of the Junk Bay Chinese Permanent Cemetery on Sunday morning that two men had defaced a grave with graffiti and by pouring liquid over its memorial plaque.
A 15-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man surnamed Yip were arrested in connection with the incident.
A source familiar with the case said the arrests were linked to two videos that began circulating online in the afternoon and he believed the pair had vandalised the site to gain attention on the internet.
The latest attack was reportedly at least the fourth vandalism case targeting Wong’s grave in the past six years.
The clips show a young man, who calls himself “Society Destroyer”, saying he will “pay his respects” to Wong while swearing at the late singer’s grave. He then pours what appears to be a bottle of Coca Cola onto the memorial plaque, licking up the spilled liquid afterwards.
The man bites bits of wrapping and petals off a bouquet placed at the grave and scrawls Chinese phrases on a guitar-shaped carving.
The video also shows Wong’s portrait being kicked as one of the men throws and kicks tribute items off a platform on the grave. The man later beats the portrait with a hammer.
The source told the Post that a hammer, bottle of Coca Cola and marker pen were found at the site.
He said the 15-year-old boy told officers he was autistic and had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The boy was arrested last February over being disorderly in a public place, according to the insider.
The late musician’s brother, bassist Wong Ka-keung, was enraged and lashed out at the vandals.
“What kind of country is this where morality has fallen to such a level? Travelling a long distance to destroy someone else’s cemetery, what will you gain from all this? Is hurting others really your source of satisfaction?” he wrote on social media.
“I don’t know how to condemn you, but I am saddened by the fact that your living environment has produced such a pathetic, shameless, pathetic and detestable individual like you.”
He added: “I wonder how many more of your kind exist and thrive within our nation. With such despicable individuals, the demise of our country is not far away.”
Beyond’s drummer, Yip Sai-wing, also called the incident despicable.
“These two individuals have been arrested and must face legal consequences. Ka-kui’s spirit in heaven will not let them go unpunished,” Yip said.
Guitarist Paul Wong Koon-chung on Sunday told local media that those who damaged the headstone would have to face karma, ranging from minor ailments to severe consequences.
He also wrote on social media: “When the reason behind committing such wrongful acts is to gain ‘attention’ and when we allow it to continue happening, isn’t the world cold?”
Some fans came to pay their respects in the afternoon, only to find the grave had been covered in white cloth after the attack.
A woman who gave her surname as Su burst into tears after hearing the news, as she had travelled to the city specifically to pay her respects to the late singer.
“I came today, and that’s what it turned out to be. [I’m] heartbroken, too heartbroken,” Su said.
The Sichuanese fan later stayed for a few hours, leaving a bouquet. She told local media she had stayed because she “wanted to protect the grave”.
A man surnamed Chu, from Anhui province, said he also came to Hong Kong to pay his respects to Wong.
He said he was puzzled by the incident, but would come back again to honour Wong.
“It’s a bit of a pity. It’s just that I don’t understand [why it happened], and I felt a bit angry,” Chu said.
Security guards were seen at the cemetery, asking visitors where they wished to go when they entered the row of graves home to Wong’s plaque.
Social media users in a Facebook group for Wong’s fans, where the two videos have circulated, condemned the man’s behaviour.
“You can dislike Ka-kui, but can you not mess with his memorial plaque?” one user named Ngan Eric said.
A Post search found a YouTube channel with videos featuring the same name as what was used in the latest clips. Videos on the channel show a young man engaging in a number of instances of antisocial behaviour, such as lying down and rolling forward on a street and begging in a fast-food restaurant chain.
Police are investigating the incident.
Lead singer Wong fell off the stage while shooting a game show in Japan in June 1993. He sustained massive head injuries and fell into a coma immediately, before being pronounced dead on June 30 that year.
Wong’s grave has been repeatedly defaced and vandalised in the past, according to reports in local media.
On June 30, 2019, fans paying their respects found the headstone damaged on the anniversary of Wong’s death. Nine days later, another group discovered a vandal had written their name out in red pen on the grave.
In October 2018, the grave was defaced with Chinese characters written in black ink.
In Hong Kong, criminal damage carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail. In general, criminal liability in Hong Kong starts at the age of 10.
