Members of the Liberal Party staged a protest outside the Equal Opportunities Commission’s (EOC) office earlier today and accused the EOC of abusing the Sex Discrimination Ordinance by filing a case against a karaoke bar which offers “ladies’ night” discounts.
Last week, District Court Judge Justin Ko gave a default interlocutory judgement to the EOC in its case against the karaoke bar, after the bar’s owners failed to appear in court.
Liberal Party member and Sham Shui Po District Councillor Dominic Lee said at the protest today that Ko’s ruling would put other establishments off offering different types of concessions to their customers, RTHK reports.
“If you say ladies’ night is a form of gender discrimination, wouldn’t concessions for elderly people, children, and students be a form of discrimination against others as well?” Lee asked.
Carrying posters reading “I want Ladies Night [sic]”, representatives for the Liberal Party’s Youth Committee chanted “perks are not a crime”, “promotions make sense”, and “ladies’ night is fair and reasonable” outside the EOC office.
The group also submitted a collection of signatures from people in favour of ladies’ night promotions which they had collected in Lan Kwai Fong last Thursday, according to Lee’s personal Facebook page.
The equality watchdog filed the case last October on behalf of a male claimant who complained he had been charged a higher entry fee to the club, and was asked to pay more for drinks than its female patrons.
At the time, the EOC said, “It is unlawful for a service provider to treat a customer less favourably than another customer […] because of a customer’s sex […] even if it is for the purpose of business promotion,” and said such practices are in breach of the Sex Discrimination Ordinance.
While the anonymous male claimant has reportedly dropped his request for the club to change its policies, he is now seeking monetary compensation on the grounds of “injury to feelings”, the exact amount of which has yet to be determined.
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