Hong Kong doctor to be sentenced in July for issuing over 6,600 false Covid-19 vaccine exemptions
A Hong Kong physician may face jail time after pleading guilty last month to issuing more than 6,600 fake Covid-19 vaccine exemption certificates in 2022.
District Judge Kwok Wai-kin on Wednesday set July 11 as the sentencing date for 62-year-old Wong Ping-leung, who pleaded guilty in May to four counts of 'access to a computer with criminal or dishonest intent' after issuing a total of 6,635 false vaccine exemption certificates between February and June 2022.
The offence under the Crimes Ordinance is punishable by up to five years in prison.
According to local media reports, Wong's lawyer said during mitigation on Wednesday that the doctor was 'easily influenced' and lacked the ability to exercise discretion.
Wong has been detained since he entered his guilty plea in May. The court delayed his sentencing after the defence argued that the doctor misunderstood his discretion on issuing vaccination exemption certificates.
Wednesday's hearing was supposed to be a Newton hearing, a court proceeding to resolve disputes after a defendant pleaded guilty.
Local media reported that Judge Kwok wanted to hear testimony from Wong, but the defence said the doctor was 'under pressure' during detention and not in a condition to take the witness stand.
In February 2022, the Hong Kong government introduced the Covid-19 Vaccine Pass Scheme, requiring residents to show proof of vaccination when entering restaurants or other businesses. Individuals with allergic reactions or other medical reasons could be exempted upon presenting a doctor's certificate.
The authorities cracked down on fraudulent medical exemptions in September 2022 and arrested seven doctors. The seven were believed to have issued more than 20,000 medical exemption certificates, accounting for over half of such documents that were valid in Hong Kong at the time.
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HKFP
2 days ago
- HKFP
Hong Kong doctor to be sentenced in July for issuing over 6,600 false Covid-19 vaccine exemptions
A Hong Kong physician may face jail time after pleading guilty last month to issuing more than 6,600 fake Covid-19 vaccine exemption certificates in 2022. District Judge Kwok Wai-kin on Wednesday set July 11 as the sentencing date for 62-year-old Wong Ping-leung, who pleaded guilty in May to four counts of 'access to a computer with criminal or dishonest intent' after issuing a total of 6,635 false vaccine exemption certificates between February and June 2022. The offence under the Crimes Ordinance is punishable by up to five years in prison. According to local media reports, Wong's lawyer said during mitigation on Wednesday that the doctor was 'easily influenced' and lacked the ability to exercise discretion. Wong has been detained since he entered his guilty plea in May. The court delayed his sentencing after the defence argued that the doctor misunderstood his discretion on issuing vaccination exemption certificates. Wednesday's hearing was supposed to be a Newton hearing, a court proceeding to resolve disputes after a defendant pleaded guilty. Local media reported that Judge Kwok wanted to hear testimony from Wong, but the defence said the doctor was 'under pressure' during detention and not in a condition to take the witness stand. In February 2022, the Hong Kong government introduced the Covid-19 Vaccine Pass Scheme, requiring residents to show proof of vaccination when entering restaurants or other businesses. Individuals with allergic reactions or other medical reasons could be exempted upon presenting a doctor's certificate. The authorities cracked down on fraudulent medical exemptions in September 2022 and arrested seven doctors. The seven were believed to have issued more than 20,000 medical exemption certificates, accounting for over half of such documents that were valid in Hong Kong at the time.
HKFP
12-06-2025
- HKFP
Lawbreakers to be ‘held accountable,' China says as US airs support for activist Joshua Wong after nat. security charge
China's foreign ministry office in Hong Kong has slammed the United States for voicing support for jailed activist Joshua Wong after he was charged under the national security law, accusing Washington of 'blatantly interfering' in the city's affairs. The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong on Wednesday expressed 'strong disapproval and firm opposition,' after Washington said it 'strongly condemns' a second national security charge levelled against Wong. Wong, who is serving a four years and eight months jail sentence over conspiring to subvert state power under a Beijing-imposed national security law, was hit with a foreign collusion charge last week. The 28-year-old activist – one of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy figures – stands accused of conspiring with self-exiled activist Nathan Law to request foreign countries to impose sanctions or engage in hostile activities against Hong Kong or China. 'Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law, where lawbreakers must be held accountable,' a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said in a statement, describing Wong as an 'anti-China element.' 'The Hong Kong police acted lawfully in handling anti-China forces, and the judiciary delivered fair rulings – this is entirely legitimate,' the spokesperson said. 'The US has repeatedly used 'human rights' and 'freedom' as pretexts to back its pawns, exposing its malicious intent,' the spokesperson added. 'Unjust sentence' Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the US State Department criticised the charge against Wong. He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted. 'Wong is already serving an unjust sentence under vague national security charges simply for engaging in peaceful political activity,' the US spokesperson told US state-funded outlet the Voice of America (VOA) on Monday. The activist was among 45 convicted last year under the national security law in a case linked to primary elections in 2020. 'This tragic assault on Hong Kong's future – including the future of Joshua Wong and other activists languishing in custody or exiled for defending their fundamental freedoms – only proves Beijing never meant to keep its promises to maintain Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and civil liberties,' the US spokesperson said. 'We call on Beijing and Hong Kong officials to stop using bogus national security laws to target Hong Kongers, release all political prisoners, and drop these outrageous charges against Joshua Wong,' the spokesperson added. 'Erroneous slanders' In a statement issued on Wednesday night, the Hong Kong government also strongly condemned 'some Western countries, anti-China organisations and anti-China politicians… for making erroneous slanders and smears.' 'As the legal proceedings of the case involving Joshua Wong Chi-fung are still ongoing, it is inappropriate for any person to comment on the details of the case,' a Hong Kong government spokesperson said. The city judiciary exercises its power independently and defendants are entitled to ac fair trial, the Hong Kong spokesperson said. 'We are appalled by irresponsible remarks of some countries, organisations or individuals that seemed to suggest that people with certain political beliefs should be immune to legal sanctions,' the spokesperson added. Int't NGOs condemn charge The Hong Kong government statement came after international NGOs criticised the new charge against Wong. 'This latest charge against him underscores the authorities' fear of prominent dissidents and shows the lengths they will go to keep them behind bars for as long as possible – in so doing, continuing a chilling effect on civic activism in the city,' Amnesty International's China Director Sarah Brooks said in a statement last week, after Wong was brought to court to face the new allegation. 'While imprisoned under one trumped-up charge, Joshua Wong has been suddenly slapped with yet another as the authorities appear intent on keeping one of Hong Kong's most influential democracy leaders behind bars. This decision is arbitrary, cruel, and outrageous,' Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch, said in a separate statement. Wong has already spent over 1,600 days in prison since being remanded in custody in November 2020 over an unauthorised assembly charge. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to subvert state power in the city's largest national security case and was sentenced to four years and eight months in jail last November. Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong's mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
RTHK
06-06-2025
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Joshua Wong in court over collusion conspiracy
Joshua Wong in court over collusion conspiracy Joshua Wong appears at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts. File photo: RTHK Jailed former activist Joshua Wong has appeared in court charged with conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the National Security Law. Wong, 28, is serving a sentence of four years and eight months for conspiracy to commit subversion for his involvement in an unsanctioned Legislative Council primary poll, in a plot to overthrow the government. He was arrested in Stanley on Friday and taken to West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts in the afternoon to face one count of "conspiracy to collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security". According to the charge sheet, he is accused of colluding with wanted national security suspect Nathan Law and other individuals between July 1, 2020, and November 23 that year to request foreign organisations and officials to impose sanctions, or blockade, or take hostile action against Hong Kong or the country. Wong is also alleged to have asked foreign organisations and officials to seriously obstruct the formulation and implementation of laws and policies by SAR or central authorities. National security police, in a separate statement, said officers arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces as well as "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence" under the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance.
