Hong Kong technician gets 6 months’ jail over online calls for copycat attacks on police after July 1, 2021, stabbing of constable
- Lai Chit, a former assistant technical officer at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, jailed over two provocative comments he made on LIHKG forum
- The 38-year-old earlier pleaded guilty to incitement to wound with intent for making explicit remarks about using a knife on police officers
A former university technician has been jailed for six months for inciting copycat attacks on police after a lone assailant stabbed an officer and killed himself on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule two years ago.
Deputy Judge Edward Wong Ching-yu said Lai’s level of culpability was on the lower end of the spectrum, given the spontaneous nature of the offence and the lack of responses generated by the offensive comments.
The comments were on a thread discussing the attack outside Sogo department store in Causeway Bay, where Leung Kin-fai, 50, drove a knife into constable So King-cho’s back before fatally stabbing himself in the chest.
The next morning, Lai told the LIHKG forum a knife was designed for stabbing “animals”, while expressing sympathy for Leung’s attempt at “assassinating” the officer.