It was rhesus monkey pandemonium at a primary school basketball court on Monday morning after a 28-year-old man stumbled upon dozens of macaques “occupying” the court.
Mr Lee and his family were making their way to Tsz Wan Court in Tsz Wan Shan at around 11am. Lee said he saw saw around 50 monkeys “occupying” the basketball court next to The Church of Christ in China Kei Tsz Primary School.
Teachers forbade students from leaving the classrooms to ensure that they would not get hurt.
“We brought some fruits with us and put them next to the incense sticks for the local earth god. The next moment, the fruits were gone, stolen by the monkeys,” he said.
Mr Lee told Apple Daily that he would usually only see around five or six monkeys. It was probably the food offerings that were left at the graves during Chung Yeung Festival that led to the infestation of monkeys, he said.
Staff from the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department, as well as several policemen carrying batons and shields, soon arrived onto the scene. They set a trap in the basketball court and caught one of the monkeys. Others then scurried away.
By 1pm, the playground was once more monkey-free.
