Viral footage believed to show the seller includes recordings of her being confronted by the alleged victim. - Photo: Handout (Lo Hoi-ying via South China Morning Post)
HONG KONG: A Hong Kong woman has been arrested on suspicion of selling a fake ticket to a concert by Cantopop legend Andy Lau Tak-wah for HK$7,500 (US$963).
Police on Sunday said the 32-year-old woman, surnamed Choi, was arrested on suspicion of deception after the alleged victim called officers while trying to stop the suspect from getting away.
Lau’s concert series at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom ran from December 17 to January 10, with tickets going for between HK$680 and HK1,280.
A video that went viral on Saturday shows two women in a physical dispute about the counterfeit concert ticket outside Tai Wai MTR station during the evening of that same day.
Police said they received a report from the 39-year-old alleged victim at around 6pm on Saturday.
She said that her husband had bought the ticket for the inflated price from a seller on online marketplace Carousell so she could watch the final night of Lau’s sold-out concert series.
But when she tried to enter the venue ahead of Friday’s show, she realised the ticket was a counterfeit.
The incident occurred on 11th January, shortly after Lau’s concert series, which ran from mid-December 2024 to 10th January, 2025, concluded with high demand for tickets, leading to an increase in fraudulent sales.
The confrontation began when a 39-year-old woman attempted to confront the seller of a ticket she had purchased through the online platform Carousell for HK$7,500.
Upon arriving at the Hong Kong Coliseum, she discovered the ticket was fake, prompting her to coordinate a meeting with the seller to recover her money. Witnesses reported that the seller, upon being confronted, attempted to flee in a taxi, leading to a chaotic scene as the buyer blocked the vehicle’s exit.
Video footage shared online captured the incident, showing the women grappling in the station as bystanders looked on. The situation escalated when the seller, dressed in a long coat, was accused of selling counterfeit tickets.
The buyer shouted for help and threatened to call the police, while the seller retaliated with expletives, insisting she was being unfairly targeted.
The police were eventually called to the scene and arrested a 32-year-old woman on suspicion of obtaining property by deception. - Agencies
