Three Pinoys in Central brawl arrested for fighting in public, allowed to post bail

By Daisy CL Mandap

Ricky Lizo

Three men – two Filipino drivers and a Chinese-Filipino muay thai instructor - who figured in a much-publicized brawl in Central on Jun 17 (Sunday) night have been arrested for fighting in public and told to report back to the police in late July.

In addition, Sebastian Chancell Wong, 38, the muay thai fighter and Hong Kong resident who speaks fluent Filipino, was booked for assaulting a police officer.

He and brothers Enrique “Ricky” Lizo, 50, and Denise Lizo,  47, both family drivers; were allowed to post police bail while they all recuperated from their wounds in Queen Mary Hospital in Pokfulam where they were taken shortly after the melee. They reported back to the police yesterday, after being discharged from hospital.

A statement from the Police Public Relations Bureau issued earlier today (Jun 20), stated:
”Police received a report on June 17 that several men were fighting at D’Aguilar Street in Central.  Police arrived at scene and arrested one local and two NEC (non-ethnic Chinese) males aged between 38 and 50. During the course of arrest, a local male assaulted a police officer leading to injury on his wrist.

The case is classified as “fighting in a public place” and “assaulting a police officer”.  All the arrested persons have been released on Police bail and required to report back in late July. The case is being investigated by the District Investigation Team 5 of Central District.”

Sebastian Wong

A fourth person tagged by the Lizos as the one who mauled Ricky - professional Filipino boxer Jay Primo Solmiano - was not arrested. Despite this, Solmiano apparently reported to the Central Police station on Wednesday, Jun 20, to clear his name, after being accused in some reports as having gone into hiding.

Wong posted a picture on Facebook of Solmiano and himself outside the police station, saying it was meant to dispute reports that his friend Jay was in hiding.

Pictures of the Lizos and Wong, with their faces all bloodied and their eyes puffy from the beating, circulated on social media shortly after video footages taken during the actual fighting were posted online.

According to Ricky, who said he and his brother have both been working as family drivers in Hong Kong for about 11 years, the trouble started when they saw Wong slap a Filipina companion along D’Aguilar Street, near Stanley Street.

“Sinampal ni Sebastian yung babae. Sabi ko huwag mo saktan yung babae please…umupo na yung babae.. nag-iiyak.. Bigla nya sinugod brother ko.. nagulat ako.. eh may hawak akong bote.. pinalo ko sa ulo.. kasi alam kong muay thai fighter sya,” said Ricky in a chat message.

Ricky said the bottle came from a Filipino-owned pub they had just left. He also said Wong’s group had come from the same pub but were told to leave earlier after figuring in another fight.

His heftier brother reportedly helped stop Wong by elbowing him on the mouth, but the fighter retaliated by hitting Denise with a belt buckle.

Solmiano, who was initially seen in videos trying to stop the fight, ended up hitting Ricky to defend Wong, leaving the driver black and blue, his lips busted, and with his nose bloodied and apparently broken.

Jay Solmiano inside Central Police Station

But in a separate interview with a Philippine TV news station, Wong denied that he had hit his woman companion. He said the woman was drunk and was out of control so he tried to pacify her by holding her by the hand.

Wong said Ricky must have misinterpreted his actions, but instead of asking what was going on, the driver who was apparently drunk, hit him on the head with a beer bottle. Solmiano went to his rescue when the driver allegedly hit him again with the broken bottle.

Wong’s friends posted pictures of his stitched broken lip and head wounds to prove that he was himself badly wounded from the scuffle.

Wong and Denise Lizo were discharged from the hospital after two days, while Ricky had to stay for another day. Despite being allowed to go home, Ricky said he is due to return to the hospital early next month for surgery on his broken nose. He has also been told to rest for a few days before going back to work.

Solmiano, who had posted an apology on his Facebook page for his involvement in the brawl, has since deactivated his account. He has declined all requests for an interview.