Hong Kong clerk, 46, denied bail after court appearance on sedition charges
- Chow Man-wai accused of publishing almost 50 offensive statements on Reddit-like online forum LIHKG
- Bail denied at West Kowloon Court after magistrate rules there was a risk of offences being committed
A 46-year-old Hong Kong clerk was on Tuesday remanded in custody on national security grounds after it was alleged in court that he made a series of seditious comments online asking for international sanctions on Beijing and Hong Kong as well as violence towards officials.
Chow, a maritime company employee, is accused of the publication of 49 offensive remarks on LIHKG, a Reddit-like online forum, between March and this month.
He was not required to enter a plea on a charge of committing an act or acts with seditious intent as the prosecution asked for four weeks for national security police to make further inquiries.
Prosecutor Vincent Lee Ting-wai explained investigators wanted time to examine the defendant’s mobile phone and desktop computer.
Principal Magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen dismissed Chow’s application for bail after he found insufficient evidence the defendant would not commit further alleged national security offences if released.
Chow can, however, make a bail application to the High Court before his next appearance, scheduled for October.
Prosecutors can ask that cases be heard only by judges hand-picked to hear national security ones, and defendants may face a higher bar for bail.
Anyone convicted of sedition can face up to two years in jail for a first conviction.
