Fury after rock legend's gravestone desecrated

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after the gravestone of Wong Ka-kui, lead vocalist of legendary local rock band Beyond, was vandalized at Junk Bay Chinese Permanent Cemetery.

A 15-year-old YouTuber and a 23-year-old air-conditioning mechanic, who is said to have filmed the teenager, were being held for questioning following the incident yesterday.

An online video shows a shaven head man approaching Wong's tombstone and singing one of Beyond's best known songs, Under a Vast Sky.

He is seen splashing soft drinks on the tombstone, kicking it, kissing and licking the portrait and guitar engravings, and biting petals off flowers that fans placed on the grave and then stomping on them.

He is also seen pouring soft drinks on himself while singing, writing and drawing random patterns with a black marker on Wong's photo and guitar.

He later picks up an iron hammer, slams Wong's photo and yells at the camera: "Film me, remember me, the social disrupter, who everyone looks down on. Can't you see it is me who is [doing the damage]?"

Staff at the cemetery later discovered the vandalized gravestone and called police, who arrested the pair. Officers collected evidence at the scene, where a white tarp could be seen covering Wong's gravestone.

A tourist, Su, who came from Sichuan to pray for Wong, could not hold back her tears as she saw the tarp over the gravestone.

"I came all the way from Sichuan, but [this is what I see] when I arrived," she said, adding that she had been Wong's fan for years and had always wanted to visit his grave.

"I can't believe his tombstone would be damaged on my first visit to Hong Kong. I am so sad. Why is there someone who's this bad still on Earth?"

A local fan, Au, said it was also his first time to visit the grave.

"I am unhappy and I really wanted to cry after seeing my idol's grave being damaged. I think these people should definitely be condemned," Au said.

Wong's three former bandmates were furious. Bassist Wong Ka-keung, the vocalist's younger brother, said: "This is how low morality has sunk. What can you get from damaging others' graves? I don't know how many bast**** like him still exist."

Vandals should be punished, guitarist Paul Wong Koon-chung said, adding: "The weakest consequence would be a stomachache, and the heaviest would see them die."

Drummer Yip Sai-wing took to Weibo saying: "What they did at Ka-kui's grave was despicable! They will not even be spared in heaven."

Sources said the teen YouTuber named "Bald Bob," is believed to be suffering from autism spectrum disorder and hyperactivity disorder, but this could not be verified.

He usually posts videos of himself committing anti-social acts, including licking a toilet seat, drinking public toilet water, or even drinking seawater.

A preliminary investigation suggested the alleged vandalism was committed for click-baiting and to catch people's attention.

It was not the first alleged visit by the YouTuber to the grave site. Last August, a video showed the teen calling Wong "a piece of garbage," and saying that one of the band's popular songs was "terrible."

A month later, he was seen kissing an image of singer Gigi Yim Ming-hay on the lips and private parts outside a fast food restaurant.

He was also previously arrested for causing public disorder in a Mong Kok retail shop.

In 1993, Wong fell off a narrow and slippery stage during a live television game show in Japan and landed head first to the ground, sustaining serious head injuries and fell into a coma. He was pronounced dead six days later at the Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital.

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com