Tai Po residents hail burning of illegally parked car

The owners of luxury vehicles frequently seen illegally parked two or three deep in Central may be thinking to themselves, "There, but for the grace of God, go I."

Apparently tired of inaction by law enforcement officers, someone in Tai Po set fire early Thursday to a car parked in the Tai Yuen Estate car park in a spot where parking is prohibited.

The vehicle belongs to a controversial figure in Tai Po notorious for frequently parking his car illegally and driving with a bad attitude, Ming Pao Daily reported Friday.

The interior of the car was seriously damaged, and there were scratches on the windshield and on the outside of the vehicle.

Firefighters put out the blaze in about half an hour.

No one was injured.

Police said criminal intent was involved and classified the case as arson.

Netizens were quick to upload pictures of the burnt vehicle, a 2007 Audi A3 hatchback, to social media, attracting several thousand “Likes”.

Transport Department records show that the registered owner, surnamed Lee, lives in Tai Yuen Estate.

Netizens uploaded photos of the car parked in violation of regulations in January, March and July.

Many people flocked to the crime scene Thursday to take further pictures of the burnt vehicle.

Arson is a serious crime, and any person convicted of it faces life imprisonment.

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