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If you've ever had to deal with a long commute, you'd know how much a good game can help with passing the time.

While most people might think of a mobile phone game, or perhaps some good old-fashioned sudoku, a few men on the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) in Hong Kong decided to play mahjong.

Yup, with a physical mahjong table and tiles.

While some of the players were standing, another appeared to be squatting on the floor.

According to Hong Kong newspaper The Standard, this took place on Oct. 13, 2021 on a ride from Mongkok station to Choi Hung station, on the Kwun Tong Line.

Google Maps estimates that this would have taken around 14 minutes.

Men between 20 and 27 arrested

The Standard reported that five men were arrested last November, "for nuisances committed in public places".

The police subsequently found that four of the men had not paid the full fare for their ride by using Octopus cards meant for the elderly.

The fifth man also offended as he had brought a mahjong table, which constituted oversize luggage, into the station.

On April 11, 2022, they were fined HK$2,500 (S$433) for committing nuisance, and HK$500 (S$86.60) each for their other offences, adding up to a total of HK$5,000 of fines for the group.

Not the first incident

Commuters in Hong Kong witnessed a similar incident in 2016, where four people were seen playing mahjong on the MTR.

That group apparently had better luck — MTR staff were unable to catch the culprits in the act, while passengers in the cabin said they did not witness any mahjong game going on.

Top image via video by Qui Shui on YouTube

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