A Hong Kong court on Friday acquitted former pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan of breaching Covid-19 rules against public gatherings after she was charged following a private meeting to discuss the implementation of the rules that was held in a bar.

Judge Cheng Lim-chi found in favor of Chan’s argument that the meeting was meant to explain the rules, and that the venue was not subject to the four-people-per-table limit imposed by health authorities.

Chan, 49, a legislator for the pro-democracy Civic Party at the time, was caught after the police received a tip-off about a violation at a bar in April last year. The bar owner had indicated in a posting that the meeting was private and outsiders were not allowed in.

More than 10 people were in the bar in the commercial district in Mong Kok. However, the police did not press ahead with prosecution at the time.

The two other defendants — bar owner Chan Wai-choi and Gordon Lam, the convenor of the Small and Medium Restaurant Federation — were also acquitted of the social gathering charges. But Chan Wan-choi was fined HK$5,000 for not checking the temperature of the people before they entered the bar.

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