An air-conditioning repairman has been given a two-month suspended sentence for inciting a boycott against last year’s “patriots-only” Legislative Council elections.
Appearing before Magistrate Shirley Cornelia Hung at the West Kowloon Law Courts on Friday, Wong Kin-kwok admitted sharing a Facebook post by overseas activist Alan Keung urging people not to vote.
Wong was among the three accused persons inciting another person not to vote, contrary to the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance, after they shared the posts of Keung and fellow activist Tong Wai-hung.
According to one STATEMENT by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, which oversees prosecutions under the ordinance, Wong was given a two-month jail sentence suspended for two years after pleading guilty.
While it is legal to cast a blank ballot or boycott an election in Hong Kong, it is illegal to encourage another person to do so during an election period.
In sentencing Wong, Hung said the government had invested a significant amount of resources in the election and should not have interfered.
Magistrate Hung considered that Wong had no previous criminal record and was a first-time offender, adding that his case was an isolated incident involving a single post. There was also no evidence that he took further action to incite people, such as leaving comments on Facebook.
In mitigation, Wong’s lawyer submitted that the repairman realized his mistake in carelessly sharing the post. Wong expressed deep remorse and vowed to consider his posts more carefully in the future.
The court also heard that Wong had deactivated his account to prevent any reoffending.
In sentencing, Magistrate Hung accepted that Wong’s actions were not premeditated.
Probation does not take effect immediately, allowing offenders to avoid jail time if they do not break the law again during a certain probationary period.
Only patriots
In a similar case in May, a 67-year-old man was given a two-month prison sentence suspended for two years after pleading guilty to sharing a post calling for a boycott of legislative elections.
December’s “patriots-only” election saw a turnout of 31.9 percent, up from the last legislative polls in 2021, but still the second-lowest on record.
The election was the second since Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system in 2021 to ensure that only those deemed sufficiently patriotic can run.
Movement reduced democratic representation in the legislature, strengthened control of elections and established requirements for candidates to receive nominations from a small circle of political elites.
