‘Insufficient evidence’ to charge basketball coach over viral clip showing alleged abuse of students, police say

There is insufficient evidence to charge Hong Kong basketball coach Yung Kam-wah over alleged abuse of students, the police have said.

Yung, a prominent basketball coach, was arrested in early June after an online video showed a basketball coach forcing a student to slap himself several times in a school court. He was suspected of common assault.

In a Chinese-language written response on Friday, the police told HKFP that they had conducted an in-depth investigation: “[P]olice found insufficient evidence to institute prosecution against anyone and have notified the relevant parties of the outcome.”

The incident allegedly occurred at Hon Wah College, a secondary school in Siu Sai Wan. The school issued a statement on June 2, saying that the incident took place at the school during the 2023-24 academic year, Cable TV reported.

The school added that it had contacted the student to provide support and had suspended Yung from coaching duties.

Independent media outlet HK City Creation reported that, according to Hon Wah College students, Yung had been abusive towards pupils over a long period.

Yung later posted on Facebook expressing remorse over the incident, but the message was subsequently deleted.

Two former basketball players at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Basketball Club told UK-based media outlet Green Bean Media in mid-June that Yung also forced them to slap themselves and abused them verbally when he was the HKU Basketball Club coach. Yung did not respond the Green Bean Media’s enquiries.

Yung, a former player for the Hong Kong men’s national basketball team, currently serves as the vice-chairman of the Basketball Association of Hong Kong, China and works as a sports commentator.