Indonesian can leave Hong Kong pending decision to drop fallen tumbler case: court
Department of Justice has reviewed CCTV footage but needs more time to decide whether to continue with prosecution of 44-year-old merchant
A Hong Kong court has allowed an Indonesian tourist to return home while waiting for authorities to decide whether to continue with his prosecution over a fallen tumbler that hit another visitor at The Peak.
Merchant Satnauli Bangun, 44, was not required to enter a plea on a count of allowing an object to fall from a height when he first appeared at Eastern Court on Friday.
Prosecutor Jennifer Cheung Toi-ling said the Department of Justice needed time to decide whether to press ahead with the case, having reviewed CCTV footage of the incident that occurred on Wednesday.
Magistrate Kestrel Lam Tsz-hong scheduled the next hearing for August 1 and noted that the defendant had to be present in court even if the prosecution decided to drop the charge.
Police arrested Bangun after a mainland Chinese woman claimed she had been hit in the head by an unknown object at The Peak Tower on Wednesday.
The force said the accused, who was sightseeing on the floor above, had put his backpack on a fence, but his tumbler fell out from a side pocket.