A man was on Thursday given a 7.5-month prison sentence for putting others at risk by eating at restaurants when he was positive for the virus during an Omicron outbreak last year.

Paul Lui, 42, had already been convicted of multiple counts of exposing others to infection risks.

West Kowloon magistrate Li Chi-ho criticised the defendant as being selfish and despicable, saying he ignored his civic responsibilities and that a custodial sentence was the only option.

Li added that the offences took place when there was a surge in patient numbers, and that Lui's actions indirectly wasted the government's anti-Covid efforts.

The magistrate rejected the defendant's request for bail pending appeal, as he is serving jail time for another case.

The court heard that the defendant had eaten at restaurants, including a Mong Kok Maxim's and a Yoshinoya in Sham Shui Po, and went to Wellcome and ParknShop supermarkets in those areas even though he tested positive for Covid via a rapid antigen test in February of last year.