Viral video of shop unit on fire is not bank branch in Hong Kong, says DBS

SINGAPORE — Footage circulating on social media of a shop unit engulfed in flames in Hong Kong is not of a DBS branch in Hong Kong but its neighbouring unit, a spokesperson from the bank said.

Staff members at the branch are safe and the bank outlet was not damaged, the spokesperson said in reply to queries from TODAY on Wednesday (Nov 13).

The video, which was posted on Facebook earlier the same day, shows a shop unit burning next to a DBS logo and signage.

Later, firemen are seen coming out of a fire engine that has parked outside the burning unit.

The video was put up online as protests in Hong Kong continues, with 24 weeks of sustained demonstrations so far.

Earlier this week on Monday, a man in Hong Kong was set ablaze after he chased down a group of masked protesters who had vandalised an MTR station, and a recording of the incident made its rounds online.

Writing in a Facebook post on Wednesday, Singapore’s Member of Parliament (MP) Alex Yam said that the DBS branch seen in the video is on 14 Yee Woo Street, which is across from Causeway Bay MTR station in Hong Kong.

The shop on fire is on 12 Yee Woo Street, he added.

Mr Yam, who is the MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency, said: “I hope that everyone will be careful with what they share, especially if it has the propensity for causing undue and unwarranted adverse reactions that may fuel the already complex situation in Hong Kong.”