https://www.scmp.com/rss/515575/feed Fiona Chow joined the Post in 2023. She mainly covers labour affairs and court news in the city. Previously, she worked for Ming Pao and Stand News(UK Bureau). She is a media graduate from The University of the Arts London and also holds a Bachelor's degree in Chinese Language and Literature from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Hong Kong film producer and actor Raymond Wong Pak-ming has been found guilty of sharing insider information with his sister to trade shares of an entertainment company he chaired in 2017, netting her more than HK$1 million (US$127,650) in profit. Magistrate Ko Wai-hung at Eastern Court on Friday found Wong had made “absurd and illogical” explanations for his messages to younger sister Jenny Wong, ruling he had knowingly advised her to buy shares in Transmit Entertainment, a television series... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3354517/hong-kong-producer-raymond-wong-found-guilty-hk1-million-insider-trading?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3354517/hong-kong-producer-raymond-wong-found-guilty-hk1-million-insider-trading?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 May 2026 08:50:10 +0000 Fiona Chow,Kristen Cheung Fiona Chow,Kristen Cheung The administrator of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court has reassured residents that the Hong Kong government will assume responsibility for pursuing claims on insurance policies bought by the estate on behalf of owners who sell their flats to authorities under a buy-back plan. But some residents of the Tai Po estate who attended Wednesday’s Zoom briefing by Hop On Management found key questions regarding their insurance claims remained unanswered, including how and when they could expect... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3354276/government-handle-wang-fuk-court-insurance-claims-under-buyback-plan-administrator?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3354276/government-handle-wang-fuk-court-insurance-claims-under-buyback-plan-administrator?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 May 2026 14:00:21 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow An unemployed man has received a suspended jail sentence for reposting a social media post by a fugitive inciting the Hong Kong public to boycott the Legislative Council election last year. Before suspending the punishment for 24 months, West Kowloon Court on Monday handed down a two-month jail term to Lam Kin-sik, 67, after he admitted to violating the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance. During the election period between October and December 7, 2025, Lam shared a post from... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3353993/unemployed-man-gets-suspended-jail-term-reposting-call-boycott-legco-poll?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3353993/unemployed-man-gets-suspended-jail-term-reposting-call-boycott-legco-poll?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 May 2026 12:13:09 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Four young men have pleaded guilty to rioting during the police siege of a university at the height of the 2019 anti-government protests in Hong Kong, with a defence lawyer saying in mitigation that one of them later developed post-traumatic stress disorder after being tortured in “KK Park” – a notorious scam compound in Myanmar. The District Court on Monday heard guilty pleas from Cheung Chung-yiu, Cheung Chin-ming, Chan Chun-hei and Chan Yuen-ming, who were aged between 16 and 27 at the time... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3353981/4-plead-guilty-rioting-during-2019-polyu-siege-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3353981/4-plead-guilty-rioting-during-2019-polyu-siege-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 May 2026 10:03:08 +0000 Vivian Au,Lo Hoi-ying,Fiona Chow Vivian Au,Lo Hoi-ying,Fiona Chow The government-appointed administrator of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court has sought to delay an owners’ meeting, prompting calls from residents to hold it before the end of June to address concerns ahead of a decision on whether to sell their flats. The move by Hop On Management Company came after more than 240 owners, representing over 12 per cent of households at the estate in Tai Po, petitioned the administrator in late April to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), warning... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3353472/owners-push-back-wang-fuk-court-administrator-seeks-delay-crucial-meeting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3353472/owners-push-back-wang-fuk-court-administrator-seeks-delay-crucial-meeting?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 14:38:11 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A 10-year-old girl has told a Hong Kong court that a domestic helper inappropriately touched her when waking her up one morning. Standing trial at Kowloon City Court on Wednesday, helper Lady Jay Santos Flores denied four counts of indecent assault for allegedly molesting the daughters of her former employer in the family’s home between May and June last year. The younger daughter, who was not named in court and testified via video conference, said the 45-year-old helper came to her room on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3353425/helper-molested-10-year-old-girl-while-waking-her-hong-kong-court-hears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3353425/helper-molested-10-year-old-girl-while-waking-her-hong-kong-court-hears?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 09:11:18 +0000 Vivian Au,Fiona Chow,Kristen Cheung Vivian Au,Fiona Chow,Kristen Cheung Wang Fuk Court’s administrator has revealed that HK$180 million (US$22.9 million) has been paid to parties involved in the estate’s renovation project, with the remaining HK$127 million to be refunded to owners displaced by one of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires in decades. The details were disclosed during a Zoom meeting on Tuesday, one of two sessions arranged for residents by Hop On Management Company, the government-appointed administrator of the Tai Po estate following the fire. The second... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3353322/wang-fuk-court-administrator-outlines-hk127-million-refund-displaced-owners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3353322/wang-fuk-court-administrator-outlines-hk127-million-refund-displaced-owners?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2026 15:08:03 +0000 Fiona Chow,Edith Lin Fiona Chow,Edith Lin Hong Kong authorities have prepared 50,000 sandbags and several sets of water-filled flood barriers to brace for the coming typhoon season, while enhancement works at the high-risk Tseung Kwan O promenade are set to be completed by the end of this year. The Civil Engineering and Development Department on Monday also introduced new guidelines on shoreline management for communities, property managers and businesses operating near the coastal areas. The guidelines include simple infographics on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3353182/hong-kong-braces-typhoon-season-50000-sandbags-flood-barriers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3353182/hong-kong-braces-typhoon-season-50000-sandbags-flood-barriers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 May 2026 13:55:20 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Amid the crackle of vinyl records and the nostalgia of Cantonese golden oldies, Holy Lee Hau-yin, a Hong Kong mother of three young children, is spinning a new narrative as a professional disc jockey and turning a page on her troubled past. After suffering an abusive marriage and the exhaustion of a decade of childcare, Lee will spend Mother’s Day on Sunday with renewed hope. The 28-year-old is set to perform for a private event at The Peninsula Hong Kong hotel and ultimately hopes to make a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3353011/turning-tables-how-3-hong-kong-mothers-are-spinning-trauma-hope-djs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3353011/turning-tables-how-3-hong-kong-mothers-are-spinning-trauma-hope-djs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2026 02:00:08 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong appellate court has quashed the murder conviction of a jobless man who allegedly beat his girlfriend to death and hid her body under a mattress seven years ago, ruling that the trial judge had not properly directed the jury to fully consider the alleged perpetrator’s violent personality traits. The Court of Appeal on Thursday ruled in favour of Law Wai-man, who was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Lau Lee-chi in 2019, overturning his conviction and ordering a retrial. Law,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352784/appeals-court-overturns-murder-conviction-man-who-killed-girlfriend-orders-retrial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352784/appeals-court-overturns-murder-conviction-man-who-killed-girlfriend-orders-retrial?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 11:15:55 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong court has fined an Australian lawyer HK$3,000 (US$383) after he admitted to fleeing a restaurant and a massage parlour without paying bills totalling about HK$1,200. Samuel Anthony Monkivitch, 50, pleaded guilty at Eastern Court on Thursday to three charges, including two counts of making off without payment. In the first case, he failed to pay for a HK$639 meal at a Chinese restaurant in Causeway Bay’s Times Square on March 23. Two days later, he failed to pay a HK$586 bill for a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352728/australian-lawyer-fined-fleeing-hong-kong-restaurant-massage-parlour-without-paying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352728/australian-lawyer-fined-fleeing-hong-kong-restaurant-massage-parlour-without-paying?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 08:01:53 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A young woman has been accused of helping to rob four people as a teenager by luring them to a remote area in Hong Kong where her gang was waiting to use violence and take nude photos to force them to pay. Hau Yan-ki, an unemployed 23-year-old, is on trial at the High Court on Wednesday for her role in three alleged robberies that took place in a row between November 19 and 22, 2020, during which the four victims were beaten up and forced to transfer money to the gang. Prosecutors alleged Hau,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352653/hong-kong-teen-lured-4-victims-gang-rob-and-blackmail-court-hears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352653/hong-kong-teen-lured-4-victims-gang-rob-and-blackmail-court-hears?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 14:19:52 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A former senior Hong Kong police inspector has been jailed for six weeks after lying to colleagues to borrow HK$140,000 (US$17,871), as he struggled with debts exceeding HK$2 million. Kwun Tong Court on Tuesday sentenced Tang Chun-ho, 45, after finding him guilty of making false claims to secure loans from colleagues in 2023. Magistrate Betty Lau Suk-han said the defendant had shown no remorse. “The court has already rejected [the defendant’s defence], yet he repeated it in the background... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352460/ex-hong-kong-police-inspector-hk2-million-debt-jailed-lying-colleagues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352460/ex-hong-kong-police-inspector-hk2-million-debt-jailed-lying-colleagues?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 06:21:32 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong court has convicted a beautician of doxxing and blackmail after she uploaded intimate photos and the personal details of a married finance director she had briefly dated, demanding he pay her HK$2.6 million (US$331,830) or she would expose the affair. Deputy District Judge Ivy Chui Yee-mei on Monday found Li Yanlin guilty of doxxing offences related to four videos she uploaded to YouTube between May 2022 and March 2023. The clips contained images and the victim’s name, along with... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352343/beautician-convicted-blackmailing-cash-machine-ex-lover-hk26-million?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352343/beautician-convicted-blackmailing-cash-machine-ex-lover-hk26-million?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2026 07:28:11 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Industry leaders from Hong Kong’s property management sector have said companies are struggling with a security staff shortfall of up to 25 per cent, as they defended a major housing estate’s hiring of a third of its guards from across the border. The owners’ corporation of Richland Gardens in Kowloon Bay announced on social media last week that 31 guards from mainland China would be hired through a government labour scheme. The scheme allows firms to import low-skilled workers if they are... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3352251/property-management-sector-cites-25-guard-shortage-amid-imported-labour-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3352251/property-management-sector-cites-25-guard-shortage-amid-imported-labour-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 May 2026 04:12:43 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3352827/helping-families-domestic-helpers-killed-tai-po-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3352827/helping-families-domestic-helpers-killed-tai-po-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000 Matthew Cheng,Fiona Chow,Kristen Cheung,Wynna Wong Matthew Cheng,Fiona Chow,Kristen Cheung,Wynna Wong Hong Kong has recorded more than 242,000 trips by mainland Chinese visitors on the first day of their Labour Day “golden week” break, with many heading to the countryside for scenic views and others opting for “city walks” to explore picturesque locales. Some early arrivals headed straight to the countryside after getting off at the West Kowloon rail terminus on Friday morning. University student Chen Hongjie, 18, was all geared up to hike the MacLehose Trail on his first day in the city after a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3352119/golden-week-opens-76056-mainland-visitors-flooding-hong-kong-hikes-city-walks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3352119/golden-week-opens-76056-mainland-visitors-flooding-hong-kong-hikes-city-walks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2026 05:40:53 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A former executive director of Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority has been acquitted of misconduct after she was alleged to have coerced insurer Prudential into hiring her daughter-in-law, as the magistrate ruled that her actions did not cause “actual damage” to public trust in the regulator. Magistrate Minnie Wat Lai-man on Thursday found Carol Hui Mei-ying and digital strategy consultant Chan Tsz-wai not guilty of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office. The pair previously stood trial... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352057/former-executive-hong-kongs-insurance-regulator-acquitted-misconduct?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3352057/former-executive-hong-kongs-insurance-regulator-acquitted-misconduct?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2026 11:36:13 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong court has fined the owner of a luxury home at Redhill Peninsula nearly HK$1 million (US$173,938), the harshest penalty to date for illegal structures discovered during a government inspection at the seaside estate three years ago. Magistrate Tobias Cheng Yun-chung handed down a HK$980,000 fine on Tuesday on Future Ocean, which has owned No 74 at Redhill Peninsula in Tai Tam since 2006. Deborah Yuen Wai-ming is listed as the company’s director, and she lives in the house with her... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351729/homeowner-redhill-peninsula-fined-nearly-hk1-million-illegal-structures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351729/homeowner-redhill-peninsula-fined-nearly-hk1-million-illegal-structures?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:01:34 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A former Hong Kong prison officer has admitted severely wounding an inmate by repeatedly thrusting a stick into the man’s rectum after being sprinkled with baby powder during a game. Tam Lik-chung, an ex-assistant officer in the Correctional Services Department, pleaded guilty in the District Court on Monday along with an inmate, Ho Lik-wun, who had helped hold down the victim. Tam, 33, had been overseeing young inmates at Pik Uk Prison in Sai Kung at the time of the assault in December... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351586/prison-officer-admits-brutal-assault-inmate-after-baby-powder-bingo-game?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351586/prison-officer-admits-brutal-assault-inmate-after-baby-powder-bingo-game?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 10:42:19 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Grieving relatives of domestic helpers killed in the Tai Po fire have struggled to break the news to victims’ children while fending off scammers targeting their compensation from Hong Kong authorities, according to a workers’ rights advocate after a trip to Indonesia. Esther Tse Yan-yin, an organiser from the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, travelled to Indonesia in January to visit the immediate relatives of eight helpers who died in the inferno at Wang Fuk Court... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351582/families-indonesian-helpers-who-died-tai-po-fire-struggle-break-news-kids?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351582/families-indonesian-helpers-who-died-tai-po-fire-struggle-break-news-kids?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 10:09:33 +0000 Lo Hoi-ying,Fiona Chow,Vivian Au Lo Hoi-ying,Fiona Chow,Vivian Au Hon Wing, 77, and his family climbed 19 floors to their fire-ravaged flat in Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court housing estate on Tuesday but left almost empty-handed after a two-hour search for valuables. Hon, a retired part-time taxi driver, had hoped to find a bag of change he kept during his work shifts, but “nothing much was there” in his charred flat in Wang Sun House. His daughter Ice Hon wanted to retrieve items passed down from her late mother. “Dust and ruins are everywhere. It feels like the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351387/wang-fuk-court-residents-make-long-climb-retrieve-family-treasures-bid-farewell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351387/wang-fuk-court-residents-make-long-climb-retrieve-family-treasures-bid-farewell?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 01:00:25 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong court has acquitted a former senior manager at a major Chinese cryptocurrency exchange of secretly moving about US$5 million in Tether stablecoins, worth around HK$39 million, to his own accounts six years ago. A seven-member High Court jury on Friday found Chen Boliang, who used to work at cryptocurrency firm Huobi – now known as HTX – not guilty of accessing its platform to trade in so-called dark pools under an individual account he created with an alias between February 27 and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351270/ex-manager-crypto-firm-huobi-acquitted-moving-millions-tether-account?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3351270/ex-manager-crypto-firm-huobi-acquitted-moving-millions-tether-account?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 06:24:23 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A former kindergarten administrator at Hong Kong’s biggest international school group has been sentenced to 25 months in jail for accepting more than HK$640,000 (US$81,700) in bribes from 13 parents and a middleman to tamper with the admissions system. Fatima Rumjahn, 56, earlier admitted to accepting bribes ranging from HK$20,000 to HK$200,000 from parents eager to secure enrolment for their children at the English Schools Foundation’s (ESF) Wu Kai Sha International Kindergarten. At Monday’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3350700/esf-administrator-jailed-25-months-accepting-bribes-favour-applicants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3350700/esf-administrator-jailed-25-months-accepting-bribes-favour-applicants?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:43:03 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Hong Kong’s security chief has pledged to replace fax messaging between police and firefighters with a digital system and to increase phone lines at emergency call centres, after an inquiry into last year’s deadly Tai Po fire heard that callers waited up to 15 minutes to be transferred. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung’s remarks on Friday at a Legislative Council Finance Committee meeting followed the independent panel investigating last November’s blaze hearing evidence of a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3350449/hong-kong-scrap-fax-messaging-between-police-and-fire-services-emergencies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3350449/hong-kong-scrap-fax-messaging-between-police-and-fire-services-emergencies?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:27:10 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow The owner of a luxury home at a seaside estate in Hong Kong has been fined HK$110,000 (US$14,039) for building illegal structures and a swimming pool following a government crackdown triggered by a record-breaking rainstorm and an investigation by the South China Morning Post. Sunset Boulevard Company, which owns House No 76 at Redhill Peninsula, the luxury low-rise estate in Tai Tam, was sentenced at Eastern Court on Thursday. The private firm, founded in 1995, lists Hong Kong resident Marc... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3350354/owner-luxury-hong-kong-home-fined-hk110000-over-illegal-structures-pool?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3350354/owner-luxury-hong-kong-home-fined-hk110000-over-illegal-structures-pool?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:22:38 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong barrister faces additional charges after a second person accused him of indecent assault, joining a former pupil who levelled similar accusations over events that took place nine years ago. Prosecutors on Tuesday told Eastern Court that a second victim had come forward to file a complaint against Simon So Shun-yan, who was admitted to the bar in 2018 and founded his own chambers that same year. The 32-year-old faces two new counts of common assault and another of indecent assault, in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349993/hong-kong-lawyer-faces-new-charges-after-second-victim-accuses-him-indecent-assault?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349993/hong-kong-lawyer-faces-new-charges-after-second-victim-accuses-him-indecent-assault?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 04:51:13 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Hong Kong’s labour authorities have expanded heat stress monitoring to include data from 10 sites, enabling faster alerts to better safeguard outdoor workers. Deputy Commissioner for Labour Vincent Fung Hao-yin said on Monday that the department would incorporate data from the Observatory’s newly added monitoring stations at eight sites across the city. The move is intended to provide a more accurate picture of heat stress levels for issuing warnings when outdoor workers should take breaks of at... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3349913/hong-kong-expands-heat-stress-monitoring-better-protect-outdoor-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3349913/hong-kong-expands-heat-stress-monitoring-better-protect-outdoor-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:40:34 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Hong Kong authorities have been urged to toughen penalties for child abuse as a proposal to review protection laws for minors, which were last updated in 1995, has remained stalled for seven years. A check by the South China Morning Post found that over more than 20 years, only one of 13 serious child abuse cases involving ill-treatment or neglect of a child or young person resulted in a jail term close to the maximum of 10 years. Lawmakers earlier this month called for increasing the 10-year... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3349760/time-act-stalled-proposal-toughening-child-abuse-penalties-lawmakers-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3349760/time-act-stalled-proposal-toughening-child-abuse-penalties-lawmakers-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 04:00:13 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong independent bookstore owner has been fined HK$32,000 (US$4,085) for holding a Spanish class in his shop after a court ruled the course took place at an unregistered school. Pong Yat-ming, 52, was convicted on Friday of violating the Education Ordinance by organising a Spanish course in April last year at Book Punch, a bookstore he founded in Sham Shui Po in 2020. Kowloon City Court earlier heard Pong’s defence at his trial, where he testified that he held the basic language course to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349656/hong-kong-bookstore-owner-fined-hk32000-using-shop-unregistered-school?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349656/hong-kong-bookstore-owner-fined-hk32000-using-shop-unregistered-school?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:39:23 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Hong Kong authorities are proceeding with legal action to confiscate property linked to crimes committed by former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, with a hearing on the matter set to be held in three months. According to a court document seen by the South China Morning Post on Wednesday, the secretary for justice filed an application with the Court of First Instance to confiscate Lai’s property after he was sentenced to 20 years in jail for national security offences. A 60-minute hearing is... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349371/court-hearing-set-july-confiscating-jimmy-lais-properties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3349371/court-hearing-set-july-confiscating-jimmy-lais-properties?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 08:24:42 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong court has sentenced 13 parents and a middleman to up to 14 months in jail for offering bribes ranging from HK$20,000 to HK$200,000 (US$2,600 to US$25,600) to a kindergarten administrator at the city’s biggest international school group in exchange for enrolments. In earlier mitigation, some of the defendants pinned the blame on Fatima Rumjahn, accusing the former English Schools Foundation (ESF) employee of “taking advantage of the parents’ eagerness to get their children into... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348521/13-parents-merchant-get-14-months-jail-bribing-esf-employee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348521/13-parents-merchant-get-14-months-jail-bribing-esf-employee?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 08:12:41 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Hong Kong labour authorities have ruled out setting up designated smoking areas under a proposed ban on lighting up at construction sites due to “enforcement difficulties”, while pledging to deploy drones with heat sensors to strengthen inspections. Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui Chark-shum also said on Monday that the planned smoking ban – which was proposed in the wake of the deadly Tai Po fire last November – would apply to all areas of construction sites, replacing the existing restrictions... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3348427/authorities-rule-out-smoking-areas-construction-sites-under-proposed-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3348427/authorities-rule-out-smoking-areas-construction-sites-under-proposed-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:55:23 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of dangerous driving in connection with an online video allegedly showing him allowing a child on his lap to steer a car on a busy road. The force said on Monday that it had tracked down the 22-year-old man believed to be the driver seen in the video that went viral a day earlier. The footage, published in a Tuen Mun community group on social media, shows the child sitting on the driver’s lap and steering the wheel for more than a minute as cars... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348368/man-arrested-after-viral-video-shows-child-steering-car-busy-hong-kong-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348368/man-arrested-after-viral-video-shows-child-steering-car-busy-hong-kong-road?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 06:51:42 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong court has remanded in custody another 10 people in connection with the HK$1.6 billion (US$205.8 million) in JPEX cryptocurrency scandal, bringing the number prosecuted in the city’s largest alleged financial fraud in recent years to 26. The latest development came nearly three years after the scandal broke out in 2023, when police revealed that more than 2,700 people had fallen victim to the alleged scam involving losses of more than HK$1.6 billion. Twenty-three counts of money... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348180/10-defendants-remanded-custody-jpex-cryptocurrency-fraud-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348180/10-defendants-remanded-custody-jpex-cryptocurrency-fraud-case?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:18:26 +0000 Ng Kang-chung,Fiona Chow,Vivian Au Ng Kang-chung,Fiona Chow,Vivian Au Displaced residents from the seven fire-ravaged blocks of Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court will be allowed to return to their flats for up to three hours to collect their personal belongings, with the first group to return on April 20. Authorities said on Friday that each household could register up to four people to return to a flat, who would be accompanied by police officers, government social workers and support staff. They added that there would be a “very slim” chance that residents of Wang Chi... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3348176/residents-fire-hit-wang-fuk-court-blocks-can-retrieve-belongings-mid-april?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3348176/residents-fire-hit-wang-fuk-court-blocks-can-retrieve-belongings-mid-april?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:40:12 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong court has dropped a charge against the former financial chief of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s flagship media company after he testified for the prosecution against his ex-employer in a fraud trial. The ruling came after the Court of Appeal last week quashed Lai’s fraud conviction for operating a consultancy office from the premises of his now-defunct tabloid newspaper, Apple Daily, finding that the prosecution had failed to prove that the media mogul had made a “false representation” or was... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348102/charge-dropped-against-ex-apple-daily-executive-who-turned-prosecution-witness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348102/charge-dropped-against-ex-apple-daily-executive-who-turned-prosecution-witness?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 06:33:33 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A City University (CityU) professor has been sentenced to 4½ months in prison for offering a HK$1,000 (US$128) bribe to a Hong Kong property agent, after a magistrate dismissed the defendant’s claims that the situation arose from “cultural differences”. Du Du, 48, an associate professor at the university’s economics and finance department, was granted bail on Wednesday to appeal against his conviction for offering an advantage to the agent in an attempt to avoid paying HK$16,000 for breaching a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3347878/cityu-professor-gets-4-1/2-months-prison-offering-hk1000-bribe-agent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3347878/cityu-professor-gets-4-1/2-months-prison-offering-hk1000-bribe-agent?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 10:23:28 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong court has granted further leniency to a senior Immigration Department assistant, placing him on a one-year probation order after he was convicted of repeatedly choking his wife and young son during domestic disputes. Kowloon City Court heard on Wednesday that the 49-year-old defendant, identified as “ATK”, preferred probation to community service because he would lose his job and the substantial pension accumulated over more than 30 years in the disciplined services. He earlier... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3347818/leniency-shown-hong-kong-immigration-worker-who-repeatedly-assaulted-wife-and-son?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3347818/leniency-shown-hong-kong-immigration-worker-who-repeatedly-assaulted-wife-and-son?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 06:17:45 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A former Hong Kong civil servant has been jailed for 12 months for threatening to burn down the newsrooms of the South China Morning Post and five other media outlets if they refused to publish seditious material he had created to frame the husband of his former girlfriend. West Kowloon Court on Tuesday heard the guilty pleas from Tse Chun-pan, 43, who had set up a website selling merchandise themed around the 2019 anti-government protests and demanded that six local media publish screenshots of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3347751/jealous-hongkonger-who-threatened-burn-6-media-newsrooms-jailed-1-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3347751/jealous-hongkonger-who-threatened-burn-6-media-newsrooms-jailed-1-year?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:44:07 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Swedish businessman convicted of raping his domestic helper has failed to clear his name and has been sent back to prison after a Hong Kong court dismissed his appeal. The Court of Appeal on Tuesday upheld the conviction of Patrik Tobias Ekstrom, who was unanimously found guilty by a jury two years ago and sentenced to seven years in prison for raping his helper in his bedroom on October 27, 2022. The Swedish national, in his late thirties, who was granted bail pending appeal on one count of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3347732/swedish-businessman-hong-kong-loses-appeal-over-rape-conviction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3347732/swedish-businessman-hong-kong-loses-appeal-over-rape-conviction?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 11:39:01 +0000 Emily Hung,Fiona Chow Emily Hung,Fiona Chow Some Hong Kong residents displaced by the deadly Tai Po fire remain in limbo as they complained of rude or unhelpful officers on a government outreach team who failed to answer their questions about authorities’ long-term resettlement plan. The 100-strong engagement team, which started operations on March 2 along with an inquiry hotline, was tasked with contacting nearly 2,000 Wang Fuk Court homeowners to address questions arising from the government’s rehousing plan, which includes a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3346603/wang-fuk-court-residents-resettlement-limbo-slam-unhelpful-engagement-officers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3346603/wang-fuk-court-residents-resettlement-limbo-slam-unhelpful-engagement-officers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 11:00:18 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A domestic helper has been jailed for 27 months for failing to secure her car on a slope in a Hong Kong nightlife district, killing a French woman and injuring seven others. Deputy District Judge Timothy Casewell found Reshielle Lagurin Magsino, 48, guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and serious bodily harm. The court heard that Magsino, who came to Hong Kong in 2009 and obtained a driving licence four years later, had worked for the same employer since her arrival and was allowed to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345684/hong-kong-domestic-helper-jailed-27-months-over-fatal-runaway-car-accident?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345684/hong-kong-domestic-helper-jailed-27-months-over-fatal-runaway-car-accident?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 06:16:59 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A Hong Kong man jailed for allegedly poisoning a pastor’s daughter he was infatuated with was freed on Thursday after a judge overturned his conviction, ruling that his recorded confession had been coerced under threat. The High Court found that Ye Wen-fei, 29, admitted to poisoning the woman with sodium nitrate in 2024 only after her father, a pastor at the NGO Agapeministry, intimidated him into admitting the alleged crime. Ye was released immediately after the judge overturned his conviction... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345555/hong-kong-man-freed-after-court-finds-pastor-forced-confession-poisoning-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345555/hong-kong-man-freed-after-court-finds-pastor-forced-confession-poisoning-case?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 09:04:59 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow A British woman has been convicted of blackmailing a compatriot for a £100,000 (US$134,030) payout after accusing him of rape and threatening to report him to Hong Kong police. Isabel Anonia Barbra Eudora Rose, 25, turned from an alleged rape victim into a defendant standing trial at the District Court in Wan Chai for blackmailing the man, a banker she met during a trip to Thailand, and for making a false police report about the alleged rape, which she claimed took place on the night of January... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345316/hong-kong-court-convicts-british-woman-blackmailing-banker-over-false-rape-claim?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3345316/hong-kong-court-convicts-british-woman-blackmailing-banker-over-false-rape-claim?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 15:04:10 +0000 Fiona Chow,Jess Ma Fiona Chow,Jess Ma Hong Kong police have arrested a young man on suspicion of ill‑treating a baby after a video posted online showed him on an MTR train repeatedly slapping the infant’s foot each time it touched the stroller’s front bar. A force spokesman has confirmed that a 19-year-old man had been arrested, after the video went viral. The commuter who filmed the video told the South China Morning Post on Tuesday that she witnessed the man slapping the infant’s foot more than 20 times on a light rail train in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3345225/hong-kong-police-alerted-after-man-seen-repeatedly-hitting-babys-foot-train?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3345225/hong-kong-police-alerted-after-man-seen-repeatedly-hitting-babys-foot-train?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 05:17:31 +0000 Emily Hung,Fiona Chow Emily Hung,Fiona Chow A “relatively flexible” legal framework for Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis will be introduced to the Legislative Council later this month to fast-track the megaproject’s development, a minister has said. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho shared the update on the planned framework on Sunday, days after the city’s latest budget sought to allocate HK$30 billion (US$3.8 billion) for the megaproject set to span 30,000 hectares (74,130 acres) in the New Territories. Authorities will... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3345048/legal-framework-northern-metropolis-be-tabled-legco-late-march?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3345048/legal-framework-northern-metropolis-be-tabled-legco-late-march?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 13:16:32 +0000 Fiona Chow,Emily Hung Fiona Chow,Emily Hung Hong Kong aims to host fairs on robotics, yachts and small jets – events never before held in the city – to cement its status as an international exhibition hub and attract big spenders, the commerce minister has said. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah on Sunday said the push was in response to the HK$100 million (US$12.78 million) budgeted to “attract large international exhibitions with new elements to Hong Kong”. Yau said the government was brainstorming... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3345043/robots-jets-and-yachts-hong-kong-eyes-new-fairs-woo-big-spenders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3345043/robots-jets-and-yachts-hong-kong-eyes-new-fairs-woo-big-spenders?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 12:46:12 +0000 Fiona Chow Fiona Chow The Hong Kong government is prepared for greater global market volatility and risks, higher trade costs, and fluctuating commodity prices stemming from the joint US-Israel attack on Iran, according to the city’s finance chief Shortly after Iranian state media confirmed the death of Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the air strikes, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday that the conflict created “significant global uncertainty” in the world economy. “I expect increased... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3345021/hong-kong-government-prepared-more-volatility-after-iran-attacks-paul-chan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3345021/hong-kong-government-prepared-more-volatility-after-iran-attacks-paul-chan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 09:09:42 +0000 Oscar Liu,Natalie Wong,Theodora Yu,Fiona Chow Oscar Liu,Natalie Wong,Theodora Yu,Fiona Chow At least 35 flights from Hong Kong to the Middle East originally scheduled for Sunday and Monday have been disrupted following the joint United States-Israeli attack on Iran, with further cancellations and delays likely to follow. Sunday morning also saw hundreds of passengers pack Hong Kong International Airport to inquire about the suspended departures of flights initially scheduled for the previous day. The flights were primarily to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Doha in Qatar and Dubai in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3345005/travellers-stranded-hong-kong-airport-some-27-middle-east-flights-disrupted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3345005/travellers-stranded-hong-kong-airport-some-27-middle-east-flights-disrupted?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 05:05:46 +0000