Hong Kong student with autism sent to rehabilitation centre for desecrating national, city flags
- Wong Chun-lok, 20, began sobbing after learning sentence, saying ‘please do not leave me’ to mother seated in public gallery
- Defence counsel urged court to consider non-prison sentence, saying Wong had shown remorse
A Hong Kong student diagnosed with autism has been sent to a rehabilitation centre for desecrating the national and city flags.
Wong Chun-lok, 20, appeared at West Kowloon Court on Wednesday after being remanded for two weeks to await reports from rehabilitation centres and psychiatrists.
After learning he would be sent to a rehabilitation centre, Wong began sobbing, looked to his mother in the public gallery and cried out: “Please do not leave me”.
The student was earlier convicted of three charges of publicly and intentionally desecrating the Chinese national flag and the Hong Kong flag in Sham Shui Po on October 1, 2022. He had pleaded not guilty.
He was accused of bending the flagpoles of a national flag and three city ones on National Day last year.
In mitigation on Wednesday, Wong’s counsel urged the court to consider a non-prison sentence, saying he had shown remorse and good behaviour during remand, and the damage he had done was less serious than burning a flag.
