Under Secretary for Security Sonny Au, Director of Immigration Au Ka-wang and Commissioner of Customs & Excise Hermes Tang today apologised for violating group gathering rules at a dinner.

In response to media enquiries, the Security Bureau noted that the three officials made further clarifications on the incident.

It stated that only three officials from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government attended the dinner. They were told by the host that it was being held in a private premises, and therefore they mistakenly believed that the venue fell outside the prohibition on group gatherings regulation.

As the trio's work requires frequent communication with different sectors in the community, the dinner concerned was an ordinary social gathering and the food served consisted of normal hotpot ingredients.

The three officials admitted that they were negligent and lacked sensitivity on the occasion, pledging that they will exercise particular caution when attending events in the future.

The bureau also said Police found that several people had breached the regulation during an investigation of a criminal case, and emphasised that the three officials were not involved in the case.

As the case's legal proceedings are in progress, further details will not be disclosed.