A restaurant in Hong Kong puts signs on some tables showing that customers cannot sit there to ensure social distancing. (KIN CHEUNG / AP)
HONG KONG – Two Hong Kong government officials confirmed on Thursday that they had been fined for violating social distancing rules.
In separate statements issued in response to media reports, Customs and Excise Department Commissioner Hermes Tang Yi-hoi and Immigration Department Director Au Ka-wang said they had attended a dinner earlier that exceeded the maximum number of people permitted.
They were each issued a fixed penalty ticket of HK$5,000 for failing to meet the "maximum persons allowed rule" as required in the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance.
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Both said they had already paid the fine and would "exercise particular caution when attending events in the future."
The two officials also denied media reports that alleged the dinner was involved with a criminal case.
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