Hong Kong man given suspended sentence after threatening to spread Aids rumours about brother
Kwun Tong Court heard that the man was angry with his brother for stopping internet service in their home and not paying his way
An unemployed man who threatened to disclose his brother’s personal details online and spread rumours that he had Aids when his sibling stopped paying for his internet service was given a suspended sentence in Kwun Tong Court on Wednesday.
Magistrate Debbie Ng Chung-yee said she considered the case a family dispute that stemmed from the man’s self-centred nature and impulse.
“It was a minor incident, but he blew it out of proportion, to a point that left him with a criminal record,” she said.
Eddie Lee Yat-chiu, 37, was jailed for four weeks, suspended for 18 months, after he emerged from two weeks of custody on Wednesday. He had pleaded guilty to four counts of criminal intimidation.
He told police he sent threatening WhatsApp messages to his brother, Lee Kam-chung, 39, out of anger and with the intention of alarming him because he stopped paying for the broadband service in their Kwun Tong home.
His background report further revealed that he was dissatisfied with his brother for not contributing to family income after moving out without bringing his child with him in September 2014.