Hong Kong slapping brawl: 3 women granted bail, barred from returning to shopping mall

East Asia The three women were accused of taking part in an unlawful fight at a shopping mall in Kowloon, court documents said. Videos circulating on social media showed the elderly woman shoving the girl before slapping her across the face - causing her to fall on the ground. (Photo: Threads/one_mushroooom) HONG KONG: Three women involved in a brawl at a Hong Kong shopping mall, during which a young girl was slapped by an elderly woman, were granted bail on Thursday (Sep 3), on condition that they do not return to the mall nor contact prosecution witnesses before their next hearing.The women were named as Leung Lai-ha, 68, Ng Ka-wun and Xu Yang, both 34.They were accused of taking part in an unlawful fight at the atrium of APM shopping mall in Kwun Tong district on Aug 26, court documents said.Leung, a retiree, and Ng, an insurance agent, are mother and daughter. They were jointly charged with one count of fighting in a public place, Hong Kong news outlet HK01 reported. Xu was identified as the mother of the 5-year-old girl, surnamed Yeung, who was seen in the viral video.Leung faces an additional count of common assault for allegedly assaulting Yeung at the mall that day.The three women were each granted bail of HK$5,000 (US$638) - on condition that they do not return to APM shopping mall or contact prosecution witnesses before the next hearing.The case was heard at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court in Kowloon.At the prosecution's request, the case was adjourned until Nov 5 to allow the defence to obtain documents and "discuss alternative methods of disposal", HK01 reported.The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Leung and Ng’s lawyer had asked the court for time to submit a letter of negotiation to the Department of Justice. Citing court documents, SCMP reported that Xu was from mainland China and unemployed. She often made frequent trips to Hong Kong on a two-way entry permit pass.Her request to leave Hong Kong to see her family across the border in mainland China was rejected by the court, which had considered her risk of absconding, SCMP said.Xu was also ordered not to discuss the case with her daughter.She was seen standing between Leung and Ng in court on Thursday, HK01 said.The women did not communicate with one another during the proceedings, HK01 added.THE CASEThe dispute had taken place on Aug 26.Videos circulating on social media showed an elderly woman shoving a young girl before slapping her across the face - causing her to fall on the ground.Police were later called to the scene and the incident sparked widespread backlash online, with internet users exposing and circulating the 34-year-old woman’s personal details - which included her name, profession as well as the address of the AIA Hong Kong office where she reportedly worked at.AIA later confirmed that the employee in question had been suspended from duties while internal procedures were carried out.