Hongkong actor Shawn Yue, 39, who opened up about his battle with panic disorder on Tuesday (Jun 2), has been accused of breaching social distancing measures after he was spotted at a party in a restaurant in Hongkong’s West Kowloon Cultural District.

According to an Apple Daily reader, there were around 200 people at the party and social distancing was not observed. Like many partygoers, Shawn wasn’t wearing a mask, and was also seen smoking indoors.

The party ended abruptly at around 11pm when five police officers arrived at the venue — most likely due to a tip-off from the public.

According to the reader, many guests were seen exiting through a side door and walking to the open space at the waterfront outside the restaurant.

The restaurant reportedly belongs to category B of Hongkong’s vaccine bubble scheme, which means that it is only allowed to open till 10pm, with up to four people per table. IN other words, it had violated social distancing regulations.

However, the police said that when they arrived at the venue, the restaurant was closed and there were no customers at the scene.

According to the latest social distancing rules, groups of more than two are not allowed to gather in public. Wearing a face mask is also still mandatory in public settings. Anyone caught without a mask faces a maximum fine of HK$10,000 (S$1,710) while those caught participating in a prohibited group gathering may be fined HK$5,000 (S$855).

Two days before the scandal, Shawn, who is married to Taiwanese model Sarah Wang with whom he has two kids, three-year-old Cody and six-month-old Chu Xin, took to Instagram Stories to talk about his battle with panic disorder.

His first panic attack occurred three years ago during a flight when he suddenly had difficulty breathing.

He said: “I suddenly got very scared. My hands and feet were numb, and I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was going to die, so I rushed to the flight attendant and said ‘I can’t [fly], I want to go back, I don’t want to fly’.

“The flight attendant asked if there was a doctor on the plane and there happened to be a foreign doctor. After the doctor checked me, he gave me a tranquiliser and I managed to complete the journey safely. Later, I went to see a doctor and it was confirmed that [I have] panic disorder.

His condition was caused by long-term work pressure and Shawn was on medication for a year. As he did not suffer another attack, he thought he had recovered from the illness.

However, he suffered a relapse recently, which made him “very depressed and scared”.

“I'm afraid I won't get better in the future, he wrote.

However, he remains optimistic and believes he can overcome it, and also encouraged his followers who are suffering the same illness to stay positive and optimistic.

Don't be afraid, the illness will be cured, he said.

Photos: Apple Daily, Shawn Yue/Instagram