A Hong Kong man was sentenced to more than two years in jail today for attempting to blackmail "Transformers" director Michael Bay during filming for the blockbuster's latest installment.
Mak Chi-shing, 27, an air conditioning technician, approached Bay in October and demanded HK$100,000 (US$12,900) on the first day of filming in the city's Quarry Bay district for "Transformers: Age of Extinction".
Mak claimed he had not been paid adequate compensation for the disruption caused by filming and tried to hit the Hollywood director with an air conditioning unit after he was refused further payment, according to Bay's own account.
"He is convicted of blackmail and assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty, the sentence was 30 months imprisonment," a judiciary spokeswoman told AFP.
His elder brother Mak Chi-hang, 28, was sentenced to six weeks for "resisting police officers during the execution of their duties" the judiciary spokeswoman said, though he was acquitted of a blackmail charge due to insufficient evidence, according to media reports.
Judge Josiah Lam Wai-kuen said the case had tarnished Hong Kong's reputation abroad, the South China Morning Post reported, an aggravating factor in the sentencing.
Police arrested the two men shortly after the attack on the "Armageddon" director, who recounted details of the incident at the time in a statement on his website.
