Simon Cheng complains to British watchdog Ofcom over Chinese state media’s ‘forced confession’ footage
- Former British consulate worker says broadcaster violated privacy and fairness rules
- Chinese embassy in London says his rights were never infringed
In a complaint filed on Wednesday, Simon Cheng Man-kit accused CGTN – which is licensed by British regulator the Office of Communications (Ofcom) – of violating the country’s broadcasting code by airing footage showing him“confessing” to soliciting prostitution while detained in Shenzhen in August.
The complaint, published by rights group Safeguard Defenders on Thursday, said Cheng’s “confession” was made under “tremendous duress”, and broadcasting the footage broke the code’s rules on privacy and fairness.
“The broadcast not only violates numerous regulations under the [Ofcom] Broadcasting Code, but also includes direct and easily proven lies,” Cheng said in the complaint.
“The broadcast is made for the purpose of stating that I have committed a crime, despite no evidence and no court judgment being presented. It is also for the purpose of inciting hatred against me, with the aim of reducing my credibility.”
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We have received a complaint about a programme broadcast on CGTN which we are assessing as a priority.”