Hong Kong court jails man for 2½ months for doxxing policeman who shot student during 2019 protests

Johnson Leung Fai was found guilty of two counts of disclosing personal data about the officer and his family via posts on X
Defendant called the policeman ‘rogue cop’ and ‘murderer’, and posted altered picture showing the latter’s daughters holding knives

Hong Kong protests

Brian Wong

Published: 3:35pm, 31 Oct 2023

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A decoration manager was sentenced to 2½ months in jail on Tuesday for doxxing a Hong Kong policeman, who shot a student during the 2019 anti-government protests.

Eastern Court found Johnson Leung Fai guilty of two counts of divulging personal data after he alleged the traffic officer was a “rogue cop” and a “murderer” via two posts on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter.

The policeman became a target of doxxing after he fired three rounds at student Patrick Chow Pak-kwan, one of which hit his abdomen, during a demonstration in Sai Wan Ho on November 11, 2019.

Chow survived but the bullets ruptured his kidney and part of his liver. He was imprisoned for six years on three charges, including trying to rob the officer of his handgun and escape from custody.

Hong Kong protester shot in 2019 unrest found guilty of police obstruction

Earlier this month, the court heard that 50-year-old Leung first violated the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance on August 31 last year, when he retweeted footage of the shooting and included the officer’s name with a statement that said: “rogue cops and their families go to hell”.

On November 11 last year, Leung shared an altered image showing the officer’s two daughters holding knives and standing on either side of him, with a caption that read “our dad is a murderer”.

The post also included hashtags referring to the demonstration on that day and suggested the officer had killed an unarmed protester.

The officer testified he was disturbed by Leung’s actions and feared he and his family would be harassed again after the social unrest subsided.

The defendant called the policeman a “rogue cop” and “murderer”. Photo: SCMP

Police initially arrested Leung over seditious articles he allegedly published online, but did not charge him with a national security offence.

Leung told the trial his social media account might have been hacked, claiming he did not log out of the platform when he discarded his old computer three years ago. He also said he was not a frequent user.

Magistrate Jeffrey Sze Cho-yiu found the defendant’s evidence unreasonable and said he could have easily removed his login credentials before throwing away the device.

Sze also added that Leung had regularly posted game-related information on social media since early last year.

‘I felt my life was at risk’, says Hong Kong officer who shot student

The court found the defendant must have intended to subject the policeman and his two daughters to harassment and psychological harm by revealing the officer’s name and levelling false accusations against him.

In mitigation, defence counsel said Leung was sorry and highlighted he had spent considerable time doing voluntary work, including 12 years of service at the St John Ambulance brigade.

But Sze said a deterrent sentence was required to prevent the accused from further transgressions, noting that he had three previous convictions in 2010.

The magistrate also criticised Leung for attempting to perpetuate the harassment against the officer, in particular his two young daughters.

“The [officer’s] two daughters are still pursuing education,” Sze said. “They look young and deserve the right to live peacefully with their family. The defendant, by publicising their appearances, has caused serious disturbance to the [officer] and his family.”

The court jailed Leung for four weeks for disclosing personal data without consent, and two months on the more serious doxxing charge causing specified harm.

The magistrate said some of the jail time would be served consecutively, with the sentence totalling 2½ months.