Five arrested after yelling in store linked to 47 democrats case

Police arrested five men over the past 48 hours for alleged disorderly behaviour at the Mong Kok branch of AboutThai grocery store. The chain store was founded by Mike Lam, one of 47 defendants currently being tried for a national security law case.

The five, aged 14 to 28 years, were taken away by police on Monday night and early Tuesday morning in Kwai Chung, Kowloon City, and Hung Hom. 

Staff at AbouThai told police that the five were yelling and harassing customers last Friday and two of them returned on Sunday. An online video shows one entering an AbouThai store and yelling Mike Lam King-nam’s name.

“Lam King-nam, come out! Where are you, betrayer?”, the man in the video said. 

Lam was charged in February 2021 with 46 other pro-democracy activists under the national security law after he stood for election in an unofficial 2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries. 

He pleaded guilty on Monday and has agreed to be a prosecution witness at the West Kowloon Magistrates Court. 

Some businesses which claimed to be on the pro-democratic side announced that they would no longer trade with AbouThai. 

“MeeApp”, an application which provides rewards for people spending at “pro-democratic” stores and restaurants, announced on their Facebook page on Monday that they would remove AbouThai from their platform. 

“AbouThai is one of the most popular businesses on the platform and Mee purchased their vouchers with money for members to redeem. We have spent tens of thousands of dollars,” the statement reads.

“As fellows, we could understand each other’s hardships and circumstances.”

“However, this should not include pointing your knife at fellows as it is the foundation for being ‘fellows’.”

Chapman To, a Hong Kong actor with a food importing business, said on Facebook that he won’t be selling his products at AbouThai stores from Tuesday.

The trial involving 47 pro-democratic activists is expected to last around 90 days.