Hong Kong lawmaker William Wong has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving and three other offences linked to a car accident on Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)’s campus. Hong Kong lawmaker William Wong attends ceremony to celebrate the handover anniversary on July 1, 2026. Photo: William Wong via Facebook. The 66-year-old lawmaker, who is also an engineering professor at the university, allegedly hit two parked cars outside a residential hall at CUHK on Monday night, according to a police brief issued on Tuesday.
Wong failed a breathalyzer test given by police officers, who arrived at the campus for investigation.
The police brief added that Wong left the scene after the accident but later returned.
The lawmaker was arrested on suspicion of four offences, including drink driving, careless driving, failing to stop after a traffic accident, and failing to report a traffic accident.
Wong was released on bail and is required to report to the police in late July. He attended a ceremony celebrating the anniversary of Hong Kong’s Handover to China on Wednesday, according to his Facebook page.
He apologised in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, adding that he will cooperate with the police investigation.
“I express my deepest apologies for a traffic incident I was involved in a few days ago on the campus of CUHK, which has sparked public discussion and caused inconvenience to the Legislative Council, the Chinese University of Hong Kong authorities, and various sectors of society,” the Chinese-language post reads. Local media reported that in 2015, a man with the same Chinese and English name as Wong was also convicted of drink driving.
HKFP has reached out to Wong for comment. Vehicles in Hong Kong. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Drink driving in Hong Kong is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$25,000.
Wong was elected as lawmaker in the Election Committee constituency in 2022 through a by-election.
He is a professor at CUHK’s Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, where he is an associate dean.
In 2023, Wong suggested in a newspaper op-ed that the police should introduce cameras with Artificial Intelligence (AI) features to identify dangerous driving behaviour in real time and combat drunk driving.
“If an accident occurs due to drink driving, the casualties are not limited to the driver and passengers, but also include other road users… ” the Chinese-language op-ed reads. “Many drivers, for the sake of convenience, take the risk of driving home after having a drink or two. Once an accident happens, it is too late for regrets,” he wrote.