Hong Kong singer Tommy Yuen, earlier jailed for sedition and money laundering offences, reveals he is now living in UK
- Yuen said in Facebook post he made decision to leave city after being contacted by national security police on a weekly basis
- Former member of defunct Cantopop boy band E-kids said he bought a round-trip ticket to France as he feared he would be prevented from leaving Hong Kong
A Hong Kong singer earlier jailed for 26 months for insulting police and officials on social media and fabricating a fundraising story about a teenager facing a riot trial has revealed he is living in the UK and will not return.
Tommy Yuen Man-on, a former member of defunct Cantopop boy band E-kids, said in a Facebook post that he made the decision to leave the city after being contacted by national security police on a weekly basis following his early release from jail in September, causing him fear and distress.
“They contacted me through phone calls and WhatsApp every week to inquire about how I was doing and also made plans to meet up. They even sent a seven-seater car to pick me up [for meetings],” he said, adding that the interactions made him fear he would be sent back to prison.
“It is unbearable for both me and my family to endure such torment again.”
He said he received a phone call from national security police to ask about his travel plans two days before his departure.
Worried that he might be prevented from leaving Hong Kong, Yuen said he bought a round-trip ticket to France, indicating he planned to return to the city. But his actual destination was the UK.
He said he had returned to Hong Kong after a previous trip to Portugal, adding that “this time, I also had a return ticket, which led them to believe I would come back”.
In his Facebook post on May 1, Yuen said: “I have finally left Hong Kong and started living in the United Kingdom!
“I believe that I won’t or won’t be able to go back to my beloved Hong Kong any more in my lifetime, as it continues to deteriorate day by day.”
Expressing a genuine desire to stay in Hong Kong, Yuen said constant obstacles imposed by national security police, relentless attempts to “divide and persecute” him, and the enactment of the security law had led to his “painful decision to leave the place where he was born and raised for 44 years”.
He admitted uncertainty about what he would encounter in the UK but emphasised the sense of freedom he had not felt for a long time.
The sound of the doorbell even triggered fear that national security personnel were coming to take me away
He revealed that after leaving prison, he became unstable emotionally, including crying when alone and experiencing nightmares and grinding his teeth while sleeping.
“The sound of the doorbell even triggered fear that national security personnel were coming to take me away,” he said.
Yuen said he sought medical help and was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, adding that his condition was not severe.
In his May 1 post, he asked readers to support him and subscribe to his Patreon account where he could share the truth and behind-the-scenes information as well as music work.
In another post four days later, he said he had aborted the subscription plan after it had caused controversy.
The force said in reply to the Post on Monday night “police have noted that the relevant posts this time openly request financial support and urge the public to exercise caution”.
Yuen expressed determination to work hard in the UK and continue pursuing music, create content, post on social media, and start a YouTube channel.
09:35
Hong Kong families find fresh start in London
Yuen was arrested by national security police in February 2022, charged within 48 hours and kept in custody until his trial.
In a court hearing in July 2023, he admitted to breaching a colonial-era sedition law by insulting police and officials on social media, as well as laundering more than HK$700,000 ($90,000) he raised by fabricating a story about a teenager facing a riot trial over her involvement in the anti-government protests of 2019.
Two months later, he was sentenced to 26 months in jail.
While sentencing Yuen, Judge Ernest Michael Lin Kam-hung said the disgraced artist and father of two had intended to paralyse society and promote Hong Kong independence with his remarks on social media.
Yuen was granted early release from jail last September. Previously, as a general rule, a prisoner’s sentence could be cut by a third for good conduct.
But the new legislation, mandated under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, stipulates that a prisoner convicted of national security offences “must not be granted remission” unless the commissioner of correctional services is satisfied the move will not compromise national security.
