An unmasked woman caught playing golf at a beach in Ma On Shan Tuesday morning turned aggressive when government personnel warned that she was polluting the beach, where nearby residents have complained about golf balls washing up in recent days.
The middle-aged woman, in white sportswear and a cap, began yelling and cursing at a district councillor and officials from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and Home Affairs Department when they stopped her from swinging her club, according to local media.
“Arrest me then! Arrest me f***ers! Prosecute me then!” She shouted in thick mainland-accented Cantonese.
She also threatened to smash the cameras of Apple Daily and HK01 reporters who were taking photos of her, pushing down one of the reporters when they refused to turn off their devices.
Starfish Bay is about a 20-minute walk from the Whitehead Club Golf Driving Range, which according to the club’s website has been closed since last December due to COVID-19.
The woman was accompanied by a caddie, who used a bamboo stick to help retrieve balls that had drifted into the water.
Li Wing-shing, a district councilor in Sha Tin, said on Facebook last Friday that residents have been complaining about people playing golf at Starfish Bay.
In a Facebook group for Ma On Shan residents, one person accused the golfers of dirtying the beach and said he cleaned up dozens of golf balls scattered on the bay.
“I went to Starfish Bay in Wu Kai Sha beach today and saw tons of golf balls after the tide receded… you can play [golf], but don’t litter the sea,” he wrote.
Group members left comments on his post, calling the golfers “wicked” and “selfish” for polluting the environment.
“Starfish Bay is a conservation area with many creatures like starfish and sea urchins,” said Li in an interview with HK01. “We treasure this palace so much. People shouldn’t play golf here or hit the balls into the sea, which will pollute the ocean and damage the environment.”
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