Last Week in Viral News
We take a look back at the local news that spread like wildfire.
Feb 13, Sat: An immigration officer tells police that his computer has been hacked, after a post from his Facebook account goes viral. It offers a reward of $10,000 for every police officer killed following the Mong Kok riots. A police investigation finds that the officer had in fact written the post, and he is arrested on charges of accessing a computer with dishonest intent and misleading police officers.
Feb 14, Sun: On Valentine’s Day afternoon, an 18-year-old man is traveling on the MTR with his 17-year-old girlfriend. The girlfriend suggests going to the mainland to celebrate the day. The boyfriend refuses, and the couple argues. The woman boards a train headed to Lo Wu, leaving without the man. The frustrated boyfriend tries to jump onto the MTR tracks, while calling his girlfriend to warn her of his imminent death. He is rescued by MTR staff and eventually reconciles with his girlfriend.
Feb 15, Mon: The manager of a branch of Tsui Wah in Mong Kok opens up the restaurant in the morning to find $56,000 missing from the cash register. She suspects that the culprit is a staff member who had just quit her job, and cannot be contacted. Police are looking for the staff member to aid their inquiries, but have yet to find her. The restaurant is open for business as usual.
Feb 16, Tue: At around 10am a 49-year-old bomb-seeking enthusiast, nicknamed “Bomb Hunter” by netizens, is hiking with his metal detector along Middle Gap Road on The Peak, when he comes across three British-made and two Japanese-made grenades dating back to World War II. Police arrive with members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau to safely detonate the grenades. This is the second time in a month Bomb Hunter has discovered war-era grenades in Hong Kong.
Feb 17, Wed: An enterprising businessman uploads a post to a Facebook group selling lemon tea cartons for $5 each, which includes free delivery to any area accessible by MTR, for a minimum order of a single carton. Netizens complain that it’s still cheaper to buy a multipack in a supermarket.
Feb 18, Thu: A postman based in Wan Chai loses a bag of mail while on duty in Causeway Bay. The bag contains about 180 letters, and the recipients’ addresses are mainly in Wong Nai Chung Road and Leighton Road. The Post Office reports the case to the police as theft. The bag of letters is discoveredthe next morning.
Feb 19, Fri: At night, a 22-year-old man wearing a blue windbreaker appears at the Consulate General of the United States in Garden Road. He picks up a brick from a nearby planter and throws it at the glass door of the consulate, cracking it. Security guards call the police, who arrive and arrest the man. As he is being arrested, he yells “I want to see Obama! I want to enlist in the army!”
