Former Hong Kong lawmaker ‘Long Hair’ Leung Kwok-hung jailed for an extra 2 weeks for contempt of Legco
- Leung convicted of contempt charge under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance
- He snatched a pile of confidential documents from official during joint meeting of Legco’s housing and development panels in November 2016
“Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung became the second legislator to be convicted of the charge under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance, after the city’s top court upheld the legality of prosecuting lawmakers for interrupting proceedings.
The former League of Social Democrats chairman, who turned 66 on Sunday, stood trial at Eastern Court earlier this year for disrupting a joint meeting of Legco’s housing and development panels on November 15, 2016.
During the two-minute ruckus, Leung snatched a pile of confidential documents from then undersecretary for development Eric Ma Siu-cheung, accusing him of concealing the details of a plan to build 4,000 public housing flats on a 5.6-hectare green belt site in Wang Chau, Yuen Long.
Passing sentence on Tuesday, Principal Magistrate Ada Yim Shun-yee said Leung’s actions were not covered by privilege as he had violated the official’s right to property and prevented his Legco colleagues from carrying out their proper functions.
“The court is of the view that only when society is governed by law and order can there be democracy, freedom of speech and justice,” Yim added.
Ex-Hong Kong lawmaker to contest contempt charge over folder-snatching incident
Having his trademark locks trimmed while serving time, Leung remained defiant after his conviction, saying he had no regrets about his often radical acts in the legislature over his 13 years of public service.
“Shame on political prosecution!” Leung shouted from the dock before prison guards took him away, with spectators in the public gallery responding with cheers and words of encouragement.
Leung first appeared in court in 2017 on a count of contempt under the ordinance, a 1985 law initially designed to shield lawmakers from legal troubles in connection with debates in the legislature.
The year after Leung’s prosecution, Yim held that the offence was not applicable to Legco members. But the Court of Final Appeal overturned that decision last year, ruling that lawmakers could indeed be held liable for disturbing legislative sessions.
Yim made references to the top court’s judgment in her own verdict on Tuesday, saying his conduct did not fall within the freedom of speech and debate safeguarded by the ordinance and Article 77 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.
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Yim set a starting point of sentence of three weeks in jail, noting Leung had committed the same offence four times from 1999 to 2002 before he was first elected in 2004. She knocked a week off the final sentence in light of his public service record and poor health.
In mitigation, Leung said his improvised move was an attempt to protest against officials’ “contemptuous” manner in dealing with lawmakers, adding that he had staged numerous protests in and outside the legislature during his political career with a clear conscience.
“I hope Hongkongers will keep struggling in the most challenging circumstances, even when all competitions were rendered meaningless after the so-called improvement to our small-circle elections,” Leung added.
Leung is currently serving a 23-month jail term for taking part in three illegal protests during the 2019 social unrest, and a fourth against the Beijing-imposed national security law last year.
He is also awaiting trial on a charge of conspiracy to subvert state power under the security law over his role in an unofficial opposition primary election in 2020.
Leung’s former Legco colleague, Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, was jailed last month for three weeks after he pleaded guilty to contempt of the legislature in a separate meeting in May 2020.
