A British individual complained to the authorities about an offensive liquor brand created by a Hong Kong corporation.
A member of the public lodged a complaint with the alcohol industry’s Independent Complaints Panel against Fok Hing Gin, which is owned by the Hong Kong-based corporation Incognito Group Limited.
“The name of the product Fok Hing Gin is clearly intended to shock and be pronounced as an offensive term – marketing comments I’ve seen online include ‘Fokthehaters’ and those who don’t like the name (sic) can ‘fok off’,” the complainant stated.
The complaint is based on rule 3.3 of the Code of Practice for the Marketing of Alcohol, which is administered by Portman Group’s British supervisors.
The brand name, according to Incognito Group, is an English romanisation of a traditional Chinese term that means ‘wealth and prosperity.’ The gin was inspired by Fuk Hing Lane, a street in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay region, according to Incognito Group.
Furthermore, the gin maker said that the complaint represented a “personal and assumptive” attitude to the brand.
Since the complaint went viral, several Hong Kong netizens have criticised the brand’s report, calling it inflated.
“Fook hin actually means happy and lucky. These people are not triggered by anything,” someone wrote.
“First they colonized, and now they say what is offensive and what is not offensive?” meet other citizens.
The Portman Group noted in a statement issued last Thursday that the industry complaints tribunal upheld the complaint after it was filed in June.
Despite the finding that the brand’s name is insulting, Fok Hing Gin has stated that it plans to preserve the name but amend the label to reflect its origins.