Hong Kong man jailed for 5 months over selling fake tickets for boy band Mirror's concert

A man has been sentenced to five months in jail over selling fake tickets for a concert put on by popular local boy band Mirror.

So Lok-lam, 20, appeared in front of Magistrate Amy Chan at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty to one charge of attempting to obtain property by deception and one charge of possessing a false instrument.

According to details of the case, the victim saw a social media post advertising two tickets to a Mirror concert for HK$10,000, The Witness reported. She arranged to meet So at Cheung Sha Wan MTR station on May 8 and took HK$10,000 in cash for the trade.

When she was handed the envelope containing the tickets, she found it surprisingly light and, after checking the tickets inside, she suspected them of being fakes. She questioned So, who snatched the HK$6,500 that she was holding and fled.

Passersby managed to catch So and call the police. Officers found HK$6,000 in cash and four tickets in his possession.

Kelvin Yeung Chris Sun Vincent Liu mirror Hong Kong Coliseum — An advertisement for popular boy band Mirror outside the Hong Kong Coliseum. Photo: Lea Mok/HKFP.

The defence said in court that So committed the crime because he wanted to make money and satisfy his girlfriend’s urge to shop. There was also no evidence to suggest that So had made the fake tickets, the defence added.

A premeditated act

When handing down the five-month sentence, Chan said that the defendant had planned the act beforehand and exploited people’s desire to attend the concert to commit the crime.

So had previously served time in jail, completing his sentence in January, Chan said, meaning he had re-offended within five months of his release.

She set the starting point of his sentence as seven and a half months. Taking his guilty plea into account, Chan deducted the term to five months.

Mirror members performing together. File photo: Supplied.

Tickets for Mirror’s series of 12 shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum – seen as one of the city’s most prestigious performance venues – went on sale in May, with fans waiting hours online to secure seats.

In an attempt to combat scalpers, authorities introduced real-name registration for ticket sales, requiring concertgoers’ identities to be provided during the purchasing process.

The concerts, which began on July 25, were suspended after the group’s fourth show, during which a dancer, Li Kai-yin, was critically injured when a giant screen that fell on him.

An investigation into the accident is ongoing. Li remains in a critical condition as of Tuesday, RTHK reported, but his vital signs are stable.

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