A Hong Kong man accused of spray-painting “inflammatory” graffiti on bus seats is set to plead guilty next month in the city's third case under the new security law. His lawyer told the court he did not expect the case to go to trial.
Chung Man-kit appeared before Chief Magistrate Victor Soh at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court on Thursday afternoon.
The 29-year-old has been in custody for nearly two months awaiting trial since he… appeared in court for the first time on June 25He faces three charges of “doing with seditious intent an act or acts that had seditious intent” and two charges of “destroying or damaging property.”
Police charged Chung with “repeatedly writing inflammatory words on the seatbacks of various public buses in March and April,” a violation of the National Security Ordinance, commonly known as Article 23.
Separate from those adopted in Beijing in 2020 security lawhome-grown Decree on the protection of national security is directed against treason, rebellion, sabotage, foreign interference, incitement to rebellion, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows preliminary conclusion up to 16 days, and access of suspects to lawyers may be limited, with penalties associated with up to life imprisonment. Article 23 has been postponed in 2003 amid widespread protests, remaining taboo for years. But on March 23, 2024, it was adopted, being accelerated and was unanimously approved in the city legislative assembly, free from opposition.
The law has has been criticized by human rights NGOs, Western States And UN as vague, broad and “regressive.” However, authorities cited alleged foreign interference and a constitutional duty to “close loopholes” after Protests and riots of 2019.
Between March 23 and April 21, Cheung is said to have written statements on the backs of city bus seats with the intention of inciting “a Chinese citizen, Hong Kong permanent resident or person in Hong Kong to hate, disdain or dislike the fundamental system of the state established by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China.”
On Thursday, prosecutor Vincent Lee told the national security judge-elect that the prosecution had completed its evidence and was ready for Jeong to enter a plea.
But Chang's representative, attorney Stephen Kwan, asked for a continuance, citing “discussions” between the defense and prosecution about the plea. No trial is likely to be necessary, the attorney said.
“The discussions are ongoing… I am confident that the end result will be that no trial will be required,” Kwan said in Cantonese.
Therefore, the case was ultimately adjourned until September 19. He also asked the defense to file a written motion for mitigation by September 9 if a trial was not required.
Chung was the third person charged under Section 23, which increases the maximum penalty for sedition from two to seven years in prison.
As of August 1, 301 people had been arrested in “cases involving alleged acts or activities that pose a threat to national security” since the first national security law was enacted, including those arrested under the National Security Enforcement Ordinance.
The Security Bureau declined to provide separate figures for arrests and prosecutions under Article 23. Revealing such information could impact operational deployment, it said.
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