A local fraternity group has allegedly handed out oatmeal and biscuits to elderly people in exchange for their support of its preferred pro-Beijing candidates in Sunday’s Legislative Council election, Apple Daily reported on Tuesday.

The group, identified by the paper as the pro-Beijing Confederacy of Hong Kong Shanwei Clansmen Limited, reportedly handed out the items – worth around HK$70 per package – in Kwun Tong. The report quoted a woman in her 60s as saying that staff members of the group helped her fill in a membership form as she received the gifts. According to the paper, the form required her to provide personal details and to declare whether she was a registered voter.

Gifts and a small note allegedly given out by the local fraternity group. Photo: Apple Daily.

The elderly woman was also reminded by staff members to vote for Paul Tse Wai-chun, a pro-Beijing election candidate dubbed the “godson of Western District” given his close ties with the China Liaison Office in Hong Kong, as well as Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the pro-Beijing DAB party who is also running.

The group reportedly gave out small notes with the numbers “5” and “802” – Tse’s and Lee’s respective candidate numbers in the Kowloon East Constituency and District Council (second) functional constituency – to the elderly.

Reporters from the newspaper entered the flat where the event allegedly took place but staff members denied accusations of vote rigging.

Disciplinary services report

In a separate story, the paper claimed that the pro-Beijing camp gave out vote allocation instructions to members of the city’s disciplinary forces. The report even quoted some disciplinary forces’ members as saying that the camp attempted to collect personal details of their relatives in an attempt to urge them to vote for their preferred candidates.

File photo: HKFP.

On Monday, it was also reported that China had contacted citizens with relatives living in Hong Kong urging them to convince family members to support pro-Beijing candidates.

According to the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance, any person who engages in illegal conduct during an election will be liable to a fine of HK$50,000 and one year imprisonment.

The 2016 Legislative Council election is scheduled to be held on September 4. The full list of candidates running across districts and constituencies can be viewed here.