21st September 2023 – (Hong Kong) Local Hong Kong Premier League football team, Happy Valley Football Club (Happy Valley FC), is facing allegations of withholding salaries from professional players, with the sum exceeding one million Hong Kong dollars. Former convener of Happy Valley FC, Chan Chi-Sai, and Happy Valley Football Club Limited, where he served as a director, are collectively facing 48 counts of charges. The case was brought before the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court on the 21st of September. The defence revealed that the defendants are considering pleading guilty, and the case has been adjourned until the 19th of October for further proceedings.
Chan Chi-Sai, the accused, faces 24 charges, including six counts of “failing to pay wages within the stipulated deadline,” six counts of “failing to pay wages and other required payments upon completion of employment contracts,” three counts of “failing to pay wages within the stipulated deadline upon termination of employment contracts,” and nine counts of “failing to make payments as ordered by the arbitration tribunal, either with the consent or connivance of the director, or due to the director’s own negligence.”
Similarly, Happy Valley Football Club Limited is also facing 24 charges, including six counts of “failing to make payments within the stipulated deadline,” six counts of “failing to pay wages upon completion of employment contracts,” three counts of “failing to make payments before the expiry date upon termination of employment contracts,” and nine counts of “failing to make payments as ordered by the arbitration tribunal.”