A Japanese woman was taken to hospital by ambulance in the early hours of November 1 in Hong Kong after she was given a drink she believes contained drugs, according to her own social media posts and Hong Kong media coverage of the case. The woman is Mao Hamazaki, who announced her retirement as an adult-film actress in 2024 and now works in Hong Kong as a DJ and TV personality.
Hamazaki was carried out slumped in a wheelchair and then lifted onto a stretcher, footage of the transport shows. Her official social media accounts posted about the hospitalization before Hong Kong outlets picked up the story and reported it widely.
The ambulance was called after Halloween celebrations in the city on October 31, a Saturday. Hamazaki described her body stiffening almost immediately after she drank, in comments carried in Japanese and Hong Kong reporting.
What is known about the case
A 61-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident and later released on bail. Two people are now being sought, according to reporting on the case. The source material does not give the man's name, the charges he faced, or the date of his release.
The material also does not say what substance is suspected, whether tests have confirmed the presence of a drug, or what condition Hamazaki was in after being hospitalized. It does not identify the two people being sought or their connection to the case.
Public sympathy and the questions it raises
Sympathy for Hamazaki has spread online, and the reaction has focused in part on how a victim of a suspected drink-spiking abroad goes about getting help. The material does not detail what consular assistance, if any, she received, and does not describe any request to Japanese authorities.
“My body stiffened right away.”Mao Hamazaki, former adult-film actress, in comments carried in reporting on the case
Hamazaki moved her base of work to Hong Kong after leaving the adult-film industry and has built a following there as a DJ and television personality. Her case has drawn attention in the city's media because of that profile.