Hong Kong prosecutors questioned by magistrate after letting reporter from pro-Beijing newspaper walk on same charge pursued against RTHK freelancer
- After dropping charges against Ta Kung Pao’s Wong Wai-keung for making a false statement while searching a government car registry, prosecutors tell court justice department applied the same standard in both cases
- At a hearing last month, Principal Magistrate Ivy Chui had asked why Wong was issued a summons when Bao Choy, the public broadcaster contributor, had been detained for questioning
A reporter with a pro-Beijing newspaper in Hong Kong accused of making a false statement when accessing a government car registry has been let off the hook after prosecutors agreed to drop the charge on condition of a binding-over order.
The prosecution’s decision stood in marked contrast to the justice department’s handling of a case last year involving an RTHK contributor accused of the same act, prompting Principal Magistrate Ivy Chui Yee-mei to question the difference in approach at Thursday’s hearing.
Ta Kung Pao senior editor Wong Wai-keung was expected to enter a plea on a count of knowingly making a false statement over his use of personal information obtained from the Transport Department in the paper’s front-page story on August 16 last year.
Instead, the 48-year-old was placed on a HK$2,000 bond for a year during his appearance at West Kowloon Court – meaning he will be spared a criminal record if he commits no offences over the period – after the prosecution agreed not to pursue the matter further.
Last November, the justice department charged Bao Choy Yuk-ling, a freelance producer with Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK, with two counts of the same offence in relation to an investigation for a documentary critical of how police handled a mob attack at a railway station during 2019’s anti-government unrest.
Chui convicted Choy of both charges in April before issuing a HK$6,000 fine and leaving her with a criminal record.