Three Hong Kong men who wet police officers during Thailand’s Songkran festival were sentenced to 28 days in prison

Kowloon City Judge Philip Chan Chee-fai said on Friday that the trio, who had previously been convicted of six assault charges, splashed three auxiliary police officers with water “in full view of the public”, disrespecting the officers whose job it was to protect the participants. At the Songkran festival on April 9, 2023.

He added that taxi driver Tsang Wai-shing, 27, civil servant Ip Ka-kin, 28, and steel mechanic Yuen Tsz-kin, 32, could not understand the body language of two journalists from the city’s broadcaster TVB. They were suffering when the defendants sprayed pressurized water on them from close range.

But defense attorney Joey Yuen, who represented Tsang, asked the court to take into account the celebratory atmosphere at the festivities because it showed his client did not deliberately attack the officers.

“This case had a unique feature. There is not a single precedent in Hong Kong law that shows a defendant being arrested (for assaulting police officers) during a celebration event (and in 2023) there was no tension at the celebration,” he said.

The lawyer said Tsang, known by the nickname “Brave Dog” on social media, attended the festival only to film content for his YouTube channel.

In Thai tradition, pouring water symbolizes the elimination of sins and bad luck.