Sausages threat on Instagram to trainee Hong Kong police officers lands food delivery worker with 7½-month prison sentence
- Yeung Wai-chun posted ‘I will make you all unable to graduate’ alongside receipt for 200 Cervelat sausages ordered by Hong Kong Police College
- He was sentenced at Eastern Court to 7½ months behind bars for criminal intimidation
A food delivery worker has been jailed for 7½ months over a threatening social media post he directed at trainee Hong Kong police officers when fulfilling an order for sausages at the force’s academy.
Yeung Wai-chun published an image of a receipt for 200 Cervelat sausages requested by the Hong Kong Police College alongside the message: “I will make you all unable to graduate.”
The 22-year-old was sentenced for criminal intimidation at Eastern Court on Wednesday over the message sent on February 12 last year, which he said was shared impulsively to his 400 followers on Instagram.
The “Instagram story”, automatically deleted the next day, was said to have stirred discomfort among cadet constables after a follower of the account forwarded a picture of it to a trainee. Yeung was arrested four days later.
Under caution, the suspect admitted to disliking police but said he only posted the message “for fun” and on the spur of the moment when learning that the order came from the force.
Magistrate Winnie Lau Yee-wan convicted Yeung of criminal intimidation earlier this month after a trial, saying the defendant’s claims were nothing but excuses to exculpate himself.
She concluded the statement he made bore the notion that the sausages sent to the college had been doctored in some way to prevent its members from becoming fully fledged officers.
A probation officer suggested that Yeung had developed hostile attitudes towards police under the influence of social media.
The officer also noted the defendant and his family had been subjected to doxxing and harassment during the criminal proceedings.
Yeung said in a letter to the court that he had reflected deeply on the incident and promised to engage in charitable work after his release from prison.
On Tuesday, Yeung’s counsel pleaded for a lenient sentence citing the limited reach of the post, as well as the absence of vulgar language in the statement and the lack of an accomplice.
But Lau said a deterrent sentence was necessary since the court was duty-bound to safeguard the interests of aspiring officers who would serve the community and preserve public order when their training was completed.
“The defendant’s offence was planned and calculated,” the magistrate said. “Clearly he had intended to publish the post for his many followers and friends to see within a short period of time, thereby achieving the purpose of intimidation.”
“It is certain that people who were discontent with police were among the [defendant’s] followers ... The post was capable of inciting dissatisfaction with police and prompted such people to resort to means to endanger the safety of trainee officers.”
From a starting point of nine months’ imprisonment, Lau reduced the sentence by 1½ months given his youth, clear criminal record and level of remorse. She dismissed a defence request to release Yeung on bail pending an appeal.
Criminal intimidation is punishable by two years behind bars and a fine when the case is tried before a magistrate.
