Abracaslam! Street magician hits 14-year-old juggler on head with phone after he disrupts street performance

It’s a hard life for Hong Kong’s street performers. Only earlier this year, they suffered the indignity of having a district council vote to shut down a popular pedestrian zone where they’d plied their trade.

Since then, they have been jostling for prime position on other busy street corners, most notably at the Tsim Sha Tsui pier, which last night was the scene of a fight between a magician and a teenage juggler.

According to Apple Daily, police arrested a 24-year-old street magician surnamed Wang and took to hospital a 14-year-old juggler surnamed So at about 11pm last night.

The newspaper, which posted videos of him performing at a number of small community events, reports that So is an avid juggler who would enter competitions.

So, who is currently a third-year high school student, has been juggling for about two and a half years, and would hustle at 10pm on weekdays to earn a bit of extra cash. He reportedly would clear about HK$200 (US$26) per day.

But So reportedly lost his temper last night after noticing that the number of pedestrians passing by had decreased, and discovered at the end of the evening that he had only collected HK$130 (US$17).

It was at this point that he slammed his suitcase of juggling tools to the ground, startling Wang, who was performing for a small crowd next to him.

Upset with the disruption to his performance, an argument then ensued, which culminated in Wang hitting So on the head with his cellphone, a truly unimaginative weapon given that a wand was presumably nearby.

Police arrived at the scene to arrest Wang on suspicion of assault. But So’s dad, who arrived at the hospital later, reportedly didn’t want to pursue the case any further as he believed it was his son who was in the wrong.

Apple Daily reports that So is a third-year high school student in Kwai Chung, and the school’s vice principal, surnamed Yeung, confirmed he didn’t go to school today.

Yeung also told the paper that So was a very talented juggler, and they encouraged him to hone his juggling skills, but added that they didn’t approve of him hustling on the street late at night.