Hong Kong man sentenced to jail in his absence over online posts calling for murder of chief magistrate and his family
- Cheung Chi-ho is unlikely to serve four-month jail term for civil contempt of court any time soon as he absconded in 2021 while under police investigation
- Under 2019 ban, members of the public cannot publish and circulate material online that incites the use or threat of violence
Hong Kong’s High Court has sentenced a middle-aged man to four months in his absence for encouraging others to murder a magistrate and his family in breach of a 2019 ban on incitement to violence on the internet.
But the sentence for civil contempt of court is unlikely to be enforced any time soon, as the accused, Cheung Chi-ho, absconded while police were investigating an incitement offence he is alleged to have committed in December 2020.
Mr Justice Russell Coleman on Monday said he was satisfied the court could sentence the defendant in his absence as he had “apparently refused to engage in these proceedings” despite having knowledge of the proceedings.
“He has deliberately not only failed to admit liability for contempt, but he has also deliberately failed to offer any form of apology for his conduct. I find no remorse,” the judge said.
Government counsel earlier told the court that Cheung had called on others to kill Chief Magistrate Victor So Wai-tak and his family using a bomb in two Facebook messages posted on December 5, 2020.
“It is useless to talk. Bomb the whole family to death. Then there will be evidence,” the defendant was said to have written in one message, published in a group with more than 93,000 members.
