Hong Kong court slaps 2 defendants with suspended jail sentences in first convictions for ban on inciting blank votes

Salesman Chan Kin-man, office assistant Alice Leung convicted for sharing online post calling for voters to cast blank ballots in 2021 Legislative Council poll

Principal Magistrate Bina Chainrai refuses defence’s request to substitute jail sentences with community service, cites serious nature of offence

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A court has slapped two defendants with suspended jail sentences in the first convictions as part of last year’s ban on inciting election boycotts. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 7:55pm, 19 Apr 2022Updated: 10:44pm, 19 Apr 2022

A Hong Kong court has imposed suspended jail sentences on the first pair of defendants to be convicted of violating a law introduced last year that prohibits the act of inciting others to boycott an election.

Salesman Chan Kin-man, 36, and office assistant Alice Leung Yuet-sheung, 65, returned to Kwun Tong Court on Tuesday after admitting in February to reposting a fugitive politician’s message online calling on voters to cast blank ballots in last year’s Legislative Council poll.

Principal Magistrate Bina Chainrai refused the defence’s request to substitute jail sentences with community service, citing the serious nature of the offence under Section 27A of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance.

Chainrai jailed the pair for two months but suspended their jail terms for 1½ years and ordered them to each pay HK$1,000 (US$127) towards the cost of the proceedings.

Section 27A was introduced in May 2021 as part of a broader Beijing-led electoral overhaul aimed at ensuring only “patriots” held power in the city.

Other reforms included slashing the number of directly-elected seats and ensuring more pro-Beijing representation in the legislature, as well as granting police and government officials the power to vet political candidates.