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Pair charged with defiling flags

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Police have issued summonses to two men charged with displaying defiled national and SAR flags during a New Year's Day procession in Central last month.

Lee Kin-yun, 19, of the New York-based Chinese Liberal Democratic Party, and Ng Kung-siu, 25, of the April Fifth Action Group, are alleged to have breached the National Emblem and Regional Flag and Regional Emblem ordinances.

The legislation, which prohibits the display of damaged, defiled, faded or substandard national or regional flags, became law shortly after the handover on July 1.

If convicted, the pair face a maximum fine of $50,000 and three years' in jail.

Police submitted a preliminary report on the matter last month to Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie, whose department has now recommended that action be taken.

The defacing of the flags allegedly occurred when about 400 people participated in a January 1 march organised by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China.

One man carried a Hong Kong flag on which the bauhinia flower was crossed out with black ink.

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