Hong Kong court charges four with criminal damage after BYD offices vandalised

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court on Monday (June 19) charged four men with criminal damage to property at showrooms and a service centre of Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd after they were vandalised last week in the financial hub.

The automakers' offices in the special administrative region were daubed with red paint, while a car also rammed into the roller shutter at its Yuen Long showroom on June 12, police told Reuters.

The men arrested were all of Chinese nationality and aged between 29-48 years, according to charge-sheets released by the court. Two were unemployed while one was a garage worker and the other a mechanic. The case is being handled by the city's regional anti-triad unit.

None of them made any pleas in the court on Monday. All will be kept in the custody of the correctional services department until the next hearing on July 17.

BYD's showrooms in the districts of Wan Chai on Hong Kong island and Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, as well as its service centre in Tin Shui Wai in the New Territories, have since resumed normal operations, BYD's local agent JC Motor said.

Police said last week that there was no evidence that the men had deliberately targeted the mainland auto brand and that an investigation was ongoing.

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