Opposition district councillor ousted in Hong Kong over false claims against pro-government rival during 2019 elections

Hinson Hung engaged in illegal conduct by falsely accusing opponent of concealing his affiliation with a pro-government group, High Court rules

Democratic Party member is the first district councillor to be disqualified by the court following nine petitions filed in relation to the 2019 elections

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Hinson Hung will consult his lawyers before deciding whether to appeal. Photo: facebook.

Published: 7:43pm, 2 Feb 2021Updated: 11:50pm, 2 Feb 2021

A Hong Kong court has ousted an opposition district councillor after finding he falsely claimed his pro-establishment rival was a “fake independent” during his election campaign more than a year ago.

The High Court ruled on Tuesday that Kwun Tong district councillor Hinson Hung Chun-hin had engaged in illegal conduct by falsely accusing his opponent of concealing his affiliation with a pro-government group with the intent to deceive voters in the 2019 municipal-level polls.

Hung, of the Democratic Party, is the first district councillor to be disqualified by the court following nine petitions filed in relation to the elections.

The district council polls, the first elections since anti-government protests broke out in June that year, ended with a record 2.94 million turnout or 71.2 per cent of registered voters casting their ballots. The opposition camp surged to an unprecedented landslide victory and took control of 17 out of the city’s 18 district councils.

Cheng Keung-fung, the former councillor for Tsui Ping constituency, took Hung to court after he lost by 381 votes in the November 24 elections. Cheng had bagged 3,822 votes in the constituency with 12,390 registered voters.