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Danny Lee

Thailand has dropped charges against Hong Kong photojournalist Anthony Kwan Hok-chun, his Bangkok-based lawyer said.
“The public prosecutor of Thailand submitted a motion to the court to drop the case and the [judge] ordered the case to be dropped and withdrawn from court,” Kwan’s human rights lawyer Pawinee Chumsri told the South China Morning Post.
READ MORE: Hong Kong news photographer held in Bangkok for trying to carry bulletproof vest onto flight
The photojournalist for Hong Kong news outfit Initium Media was heading home after covering the aftermath of the Erawan Shrine bombing in Bangkok when he was stopped at Suvarnabhumi Airport on August 23.
Inspectors found a bulletproof vest in Kwan’s hand luggage. In Thailand, this requires a licence unless it is for military or police use.
A total of 20 people died in the shrine bombing, including two from Hong Kong.
The Thai government sought to avoid flak over the case by applying to the court on December 30 to withdraw the case.
Proceedings were held up as a copy of the motion had to be sent to Kwan, who did not have a local address. The court sought his legal team to pass on the document to the photographer to determine whether he agreed with the motion to dismiss the case.
READ MORE: Bodies of two women killed in Bangkok bombing flown home to Hong Kong
The court later confirmed that Kwan had no objections andordered the case to be dropped on January 29.
Pawinee late last year submitted a complaint letter to the Thai attorney general. According to Kwan’s lawyer, the law states that if a court case is not beneficial to Thailand or in the public interest, court proceedings can be dropped.
The ordeal ends more than six months of uncertainty as Kwan fought charges of carrying military weapons without permission. If found guilty, he could have been jailed for five years.
Kwan and Initium could not immediately be reached for comment.


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Thai court drops case against Hong Kong photojournalist over bulletproof vest 

The case in Bangkok against Hong Kong photojournalist Anthony Kwan has been dropped. Photo: AP

News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Anthony Kwan’s lawyer said a court could drop a case if it was not beneficial to Thailand or in the public interest
