New facts have emerged in the story of a brawl in Central last weekend involving two Filipino brothers, a Filipino prize fighter, and a local Muay Thai instructor.
The fight saw brothers Ricky and Denise Lizo, both workers from the Philippines, get into a violent altercation with Muay Thai instructor Sebastian Chancell Wong, also known as Sebastian Yip, and Wong’s friend, Filipino professional boxer Jay Primo Solmiano, on Sunday night in D’Aguilar Street.
According to a statement from police, officers were called to the scene and arrested three of the men, two non-ethnic-Chinese males, aged between 38 and 50, and a local man.
The men being investigated, according to the Sun HK, were the Lizo brothers and Wong. Police alleged the local man, Wong, also assaulted an officer in the course of the arrest, leaving him with an injury to his wrist.
The case has been classified as “fighting in a public place” and “assaulting a police officer,” the force said. The trio were allowed to post bail and have been told to report back to police in late July.
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The fourth man involved in the brawl, Solmiano, had reportedly turned himself to police on June 20, reported the Sun HK. Police, however, have said they are currently only investigating three people connected to the fight.
When Coconuts HK spoke with Ricky Lizo on Thursday, he claimed he and his brother had intervened to stop Wong hurting a female companion.
Lizo — who works as a domestic worker and driver for a family in the Mid-Levels — claimed Wong, in response, had grabbed his brother and that he had struck Wong with a glass bottle, in order to “protect” his sibling.
According to a police report seen by the Sun HK, however, Denise Lizo had also reportedly attacked Wong by “elbowing” him in the mouth. Wong then responded by hitting Dennis with a belt buckle, Sun HK reported.
After his friend was hit, Solmiano then struck Ricky Lizo, leaving his face severely injured. Lizo said he had undergone surgery to his nose and required another procedure.
He accused the boxer of making his face “a punching bag.”
However, according to the Sun HK, Wong — who has not responded to Coconuts HK’s request for comment — denied hitting his female companion, in an interview with a Filipino TV station.
He claimed that the woman was drunk and was out of control so he tried to pacify her by holding her by the hand, the newspaper reported.
Wong told the TV station that Ricky Lizo was “drunk,” had “misinterpreted” his actions and, after hitting him with a bottle, had tried to strike him again with the broken remains, and that’s when Solmiano intervened to protect his friend.
Lizo claimed to Coconuts HK that he only hit him once with a bottle.
The case is being investigated by the District Investigation Team 5 of Central District.
We’ll update this story has more information becomes available.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include new information obtained from police and local media sources.
