Hong Kong activist loses appeal over prison letter but gets lighter sentence
A Hong Kong opposition activist currently serving jail time under the
national security law has lost an appeal against his conviction for arranging the unauthorised delivery of a complaint letter out of prison two years ago, but has convinced a court to impose a lighter penalty.
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The High Court on Monday upheld Owen Chow Ka-shing's conviction for instructing one of his legal advisers to take his complaint against the Correctional Services Department to the Office of the Ombudsman, a watchdog that focuses on public administration concerns.
But the court agreed to replace his three-day jail sentence with a HK$1,800 (US$231) fine. The same penalty was earlier imposed on Chow's lawyer, Phyllis Woo Wing-see, whose appeal against conviction was similarly dismissed on Monday.
Chow, 28, is serving a total sentence of 12 years and 10½ months arising from two previous cases, including
a high-profile trial implicating 45 former politicians and activists linked to an unofficial legislative 'primary' election in 2020.
He explained in
an earlier hearing that he covertly handed over the complaint letter to Woo during a meeting at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre on May 2, 2023, out of concern that the prison operator would withhold the document.
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The complaint letter alleged prison officers barred Chow from receiving two books on Buddhism and tore off their covers when they were returned to the sender.
Chow's lawyers had taken issue with the letter's nature and argued it should be categorised as an authorised article which did not require to go through a security check before being taken out of prison.
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