Witman Hung partygate

On 3 January 2022, during the city's fifth wave of COVID-19 infections, a banquet was held at a tapas bar in Wan Chai to celebrate the 53rd birthday of Witman Hung Wai-man, a delegate of Hong Kong to the National People's Congress.

Amidst initial spread of the Omicron variant, the party was attended by at least 225 people including several senior officials, exceeding the legal capacity of the venue.

The party was held against advice given by authorities to avoid large gatherings, and some attendees were later scrutinised for failing to use the government's contact tracing app, LeaveHomeSafe, as was legally required.

The party became known to the public after a participant became infected with COVID-19, prompting authorities to order Hung and 170 other attendees to enter quarantine at a government facility in Penny's Bay.

[6] On 3 January 2022, a banquet was held to celebrate the 53rd birthday of Witman Hung Wai-man at Reserva Ibérica Tapas Bar & Restaurant in Causeway Centre, Wan Chai.

[9] The number of diners in type D catering businesses could not exceed the seating capacity of the premise and it was the restaurant's responsibility under the law to ensure that all customers had scanned the QR code for the government's track-and-trace mobile application before entering the venue.

[10] However, photographs leaked to the press showed more than 200 joined the crowded party,[11][12] with some believed to be senior government officials and members of the Legislative Council,[13] who had attended their oath-taking ceremony earlier that day.

[1] Later reports confirmed the event was attended by at least 225 people,[14] including fourteen senior officials and twenty lawmakers,[15] exceeding the legal capacity of the venue.

[6] Senior officials, especially Commissioner of ICAC Simon Peh, were also criticised for attending private parties, which were usually avoided to show neutrality in the colonial era and the early years after the handover of Hong Kong.

[5][59] At a press conference a few hours later, Lam criticised all officials who attended but singled out Tsui given his role in overseeing Hong Kong's pandemic response.

[1] The investigation report concluded Tsui had breached COVID rules for not scanning the LeaveHomeSafe tracing app and not wearing a mask during conversations at the party.