SINGAPORE — The police are investigating an incident involving a Hong Kong resident named Alex Yeung, who allegedly organised a gathering for people to share their views on the Hong Kong protests.

The gathering, which was held on Oct 11, was publicised on Mr Yeung’s Facebook page where he welcomed people of Chinese ethnicity residing in Singapore to give their opinions on the ongoing events in Hong Kong. 

The police said on Thursday (Nov 7) that they were alerted to the incident on the day of the event. 

The gathering, which was initially held at Kimoto Gastro Bar at The Sail@Marina Bay, was later moved to a public area in the vicinity of The Promontory at Marina Boulevard, the police said.

It added that Mr Yeung’s passport has been impounded and he is assisting the police with investigations. However, he has not been arrested and he is not in custody, the police added.

In a statement on Facebook, the police reminded members of the public that organising or taking part in a public assembly without a police permit in Singapore is illegal and constitutes an offence under the Public Order Act.

“The police will not grant any permits for assemblies that advocate political causes of other countries. Foreigners visiting or living in Singapore should abide by our laws.” 

Mr Yeung, who has his own YouTube channel, is the founder of the Wah Kee restaurant chain, which has outlets in Hong Kong and Japan. 

On his channel, he has posted various videos about the protests in Hong Kong as well as his views about the violence. He has also talked about his respect for the city's police force in making Hong Kong what used to be one of the safest places in the world.

In a clip uploaded on Monday and which has been viewed more than 186,000 times, he explained why he was in Singapore from Oct 10 to 12.

"Doing business in Hong Kong is tough, so I came to Singapore to see if I may set up a restaurant here and arranged to meet some people... make some investment here to set up a company," he said in Cantonese. He also talked about getting a “second home” or property here because security in Hong Kong is not good. 

"Business is bad and every month, my company is losing money." he said. "I have never thought of breaking any law here or getting involved in politics. I am not a politician, I am just a businessman. I am here to look for business opportunities. It is that simple. This has to be very clear,” he stressed and repeated this point a few times in the clip.

As for the gathering, he said that he attended it "out of courtesy" when invited. "To be polite to the people who wanted to take pictures with me, I obliged,” he said, claiming that he told the group he was not going to talk about politics and these “fans” were the same people who reported to the police about him. 

“While in Singapore, I have never thought of arranging with people to meet or organise gatherings. But because I was not careful, a group of people from Hong Kong who are in Singapore have complained about me," he added.

“We should respect the laws of every country… I have no intention to break laws here.”

In the second part of his clip, Mr Yeung said that he is bracing himself for jail time and his restaurant chain’s operations may be affected. He urged those who are supporting him not to be sad and also talked about speaking up before the “violent student protesters” in Hong Kong “get worse”.