HK church that helped protestors says its bank account got frozen "without justification”

A Hong Kong church whose volunteers supported protesters during last year’s social unrest says its bank account has been frozen.

The Good Neighbour North District Church said in a Facebook post this morning that its account with HSBC, as well as the accounts of its pastor Roy Chan Hoi-hing and his wife, were frozen “without any prior notification nor justification.”

According to reports, the police told the bank to freeze the accounts as part of an investigation into a suspected money-laundering case involving crowdfunding.

Chan said in a radio program that the move by authorities is no doubt an act of “political retaliation”, as in the past year, their group “Safeguard Our Generation” was determined to offer humanitarian aid to protesters at the frontline.

“The income of the church relies on crowdfunding campaigns and donations from members of the church, without these funds, we are afraid we cannot continue to help the homeless and pay salaries of staff members of the church,” said Chan.

The church currently runs hostels for homeless people, providing 30 free places in three districts.