Hong Kong protests: man gets 13 months’ jail after prosecutors win review over sentence for inciting unlawful assembly at controversial detention centre
- Poon Yung-wai, 38, had earlier been handed down an order of 160 hours of community service on an incitement charge
- He published posts in a Facebook group under pseudonym ‘Kim Jong-un’, claiming to have learned about alleged sexual assaults at remote holding centre
The Court of Appeal on Thursday sided with the prosecution in finding the trial magistrate had erred in principle in sentencing Poon Yung-wai, 38, last November and imposing a “manifestly inadequate” order of 160 hours of community service on an incitement charge.
Mr Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor, chief judge of the High Court, said the offence warranted a jail sentence even for first-time offenders because it was very serious, considering it involved a targeted attack on law enforcement and a risk of breaching public order.
The defendant was the first person to face criminal prosecution over posting provocative messages on social media since protests erupted in June 2019 over a now-withdrawn extradition bill.
The charge of incitement to take part in an unlawful assembly is punishable by two years in prison when the case is heard by a magistrate.
