Ex-Hong Kong opposition lawmaker jailed for 3 weeks for contempt after protesting against rival in Legislative Council meeting

Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung pleaded guilty at West Kowloon Court on Friday to a contempt charge under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privilege) Ordinance, initially designed to immunise members from criminal sanctions while exercising their freedom of speech and debate.

The then Labour Party legislator had chanted slogans to mark his disapproval of a pro-establishment leader taking over a House Committee meeting on May 8, 2020 and subsequently beginning to clear a backlog of bills for review. The committee had previously ground to a halt as members failed to elect a chairman following 17 sittings since October 2019.

In refusing Cheung’s plea for a fine or suspended jail sentence, acting chief magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen said the former lawmaker’s conduct had tarnished Legco’s reputation and contributed to “a decline of civility”.

“Mr Cheung had shouted in a loud voice over some time in a continuous and persistent manner … His action was more than a minor inconvenience to his colleagues,” Law said.

The magistrate also noted Cheung’s culpability was higher than an average spectator sitting in the public gallery, given his proximity to the people affected.

Prosecutors first charged a Legco member with contempt in a 2017 case against former opposition lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, who purportedly disrupted a panel meeting the previous year by snatching a government official’s folder.

That case was put on hold until last September when the Court of Final Appeal upheld the legality of prosecuting legislators for the offence under section 17c of the 1985 ordinance.