Firm of ex-contender in Hong Kong Legco polls sues officials over inaction in murder case leading to 2019 protests

Siu See-kong, best known for his ‘rice bowl dance’ in a 2007 campaign, files civil suit at High Court, arguing city has jurisdiction to hold trial for Chan Tong-kai

Legal knots between Hong Kong and Taiwan over handling of murder of Chan’s girlfriend on self-ruled island led to city’s proposed extradition bill that triggered months-long unrest

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Siu See-kong is best known for his ‘rice dance' during his Legco campaign in 2007. Photo: Warton Li

Published: 8:18pm, 3 Nov 2021Updated: 8:45pm, 3 Nov 2021

A company led by a former Legislative Council poll contender has sued the Hong Kong government for not prosecuting a confessed murderer, whose case was linked to the now-abandoned extradition bill that sparked waves of social unrest in 2019.

Sino Moral, helmed by director Siu See-kong, best known for his “rice bowl dance” during his election campaign, on Wednesday filed a civil suit at the High Court against the city’s justice secretary and police chief. The officials were accused of inaction over the case of Chan Tong-kai, who admitted murdering his then pregnant girlfriend Poon Hiu-wing during a trip to Taipei in 2018.

Chan Tong-kai was released from Pik Uk Correctional Institution in 2019. Photo: Sam Tsang

Chan, also named in the court action as a defendant, was sentenced to 29 months in a Hong Kong jail in 2019, after he pleaded guilty to a money-laundering charge for accessing money from Poon’s bank account upon returning to the city.

But Hong Kong has no jurisdiction to place him on trial for Poon’s death in Taiwan, prompting the city’s government to propose an extradition bill, which would also allow for the transfer of fugitives to mainland China.

The now-abandoned legislation triggered protests which morphed into a months-long anti-government movement in 2019, with often-violent clashes between demonstrators and police.