DAB member apologises for Angus Ng shirt criticism

A DAB member who sparked public anger by criticising one of the Hong Kong team at the Tokyo Olympics for a shirt he wore has finally apologised – but only for the tone he used in his earlier criticism.

Nicholas Muk, a teacher, was one of the first people to criticise badminton star Angus Ng for wearing a black T-shirt during his opening game in Tokyo. The shirt had “Hong Kong, China” printed on the back, but was missing the Bauhinia emblem.

Muk had called on Ng to withdraw from the Games if he “didn’t want to represent Hong Kong”.

Ng won the match over Mexico’s Lino Munoz, but had to take to his social media page afterwards to explain that he had lost his sponsor so was wearing his own shirt, and wasn’t legally authorised to put the emblem on it.

Amid mounting calls for him to apologise, and with his party’s chairwoman Starry Lee saying he should “shoulder responsibility” for his remarks, Muk on Wednesday posted a statement on his YouTube channel.

It was published while Ng was competing against Kevin Cordon from Guatemala for a place in the elimination rounds.

Muk said he had earlier spoken out because he was very surprised to see the badminton player wearing a shirt without the emblem, and he only responded now because he didn’t want to affect the team’s preparations.

“I was very emotional, and the tone I used when I made my comment on Facebook was a bit too heavy. I make an apology here,” he wrote.

Muk had earlier shut down his Facebook page, where he made the earlier comment, saying he was being doxxed.

He said he is happy to see the badminton team wearing shirts with an emblem now, and he thanked the Hong Kong Badminton Association for taking remedial measures.

“I wish Hong Kong athletes can get good results in the coming competitions,” he said.

Ng however crashed out of the Olympics in his match, suffering a surprise defeat to Cordon.

Members of the public appeared unsatisfied with Muk’s statement on YouTube flooded with angry and critical comments.