A Filipino man was arrested in Kowloon on Saturday night, allegedly all because he was wearing black while passing through a protest area in Kowloon on Saturday night.
The man, who requested to remain anonymous, works as a dancer in Hong Kong Disneyland, Deputy Philippine Consul General in Hong Kong Germinia Aguilar-Usudan told Dateline Philippines yesterday.
According to Aguilar-Usudan, the man lives alone in a flat in Mong Kok and was just passing through a protest area while wearing a black shirt. In his statement, the Filipino said that he was on the way to buy food in the popular shopping district when he was nabbed by authorities at around 11pm.
“He said he’s on his way to get some food last night and unfortunately he was wearing black and he’s not part of the rally,” Aguilar-Usudan said.
The expat was detained at the North Point Police Station and later went through a routine checkup where he was joined by officers from the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong.
The Philippine Consulate General has coordinated with the police in Hong Kong, and at least two pro bono Hong Kong lawyers are assisting the arrested Filipino. The case is still under investigation and no charges have been filed yet.
“This is the first time it happened, no Filipino has been arrested before ever since the rallies on the extradition bill has [sic] started,” Aguilar-Usudan said.
The Philippine Consulate has issued multiple advisories since protests against a controversial Hong Kong bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China started in April. It reiterated this in an advisory posted yesterday that warned against planned protests today. Filipinos in Hong Kong were told to avoid seven rally areas and to not wear black or white clothing.
