Who is Tommy Yuen? All about singer as he gets arrested in shoplifting case

Hong Kong singer, Tommy Yuen failed to appear in court for a shoplifting charge, after which a Hong Kong court issued a warrant for arrest.

Tommy Yuen is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and former member of the early-2000s boy band, E-Kids. After E-Kids disbanded, Yuen went on to become a pro-democracy activitst, and used social media and his music to raise voices during the 2019 Hong Kong protest. His protest anthem, Meet You Under the Pot, gained widspread recognition.

Yuen was expected to appear in Kowloon City Court on July 8 on charges of theft for allegedly stealing HK $144.5o or US $18.40 worth of snacks and drinks from a supermarket last month. As per a charge sheet, the singer stole six bottles of coke, tea, water, candies, potato chips, biscuits and peanuts on June 18.

He was allegedly spotted acting suspiciously by patrolling officers in To Kwa Kwan, as per police. As per China Morning Post, Yuen shoplifted from a Wellcome Supermarket and was carrying a credit card belonging to someone else. He was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting. Yuen was detained for 10 hours and was released on a HK $500 or US $63.69 bail pending court hearing.

Magistrate Philip Chan Chee-fai granted the prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant and said that while his preliminary view was to extend Yuen's bail after he initially appeared in court, he would raise the bail bond to HK $3,000 or US $382.17.

Has Tommy Yuen been arrested before?

Yes, Tommy Yuen's recent shoplifting charge is not the only time he has been arrested. The singer previously served 26 months in jail for insulting police and officials, and fabricating a fundraising story.

In February, 2022, Yuen was arrested by national security police, charged within 48 hours and kept in custody until trial. In a July 2023 court hearing, Yuen admitted to breaching a colonial-era sedition law of insulting police and officials on social media along with laundering $89,172.14 through a fake fundraising effort.

After his early release in September, 2023, Yuen in May 2024 took to Facebook to announce that he has left Hong Kong after facing weekly contact with national security. In the post, Yuen mentioned that frequent police questioning caused him distress, and he has moved to the United Kingdom. He expressed that he would continue to work hard in the UK, by creating content, and starting a YouTube channel.

However, the 45-year old singer was spotted in the city in December, 2024.

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