Latest news with #EasternCourt
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong football fan, 19, convicted of insulting national anthem
A 19-year-old Hong Kong football fan has been convicted of insulting the national anthem by turning his back to the pitch when the song was played at a 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier match last year. Eastern Court on Wednesday found defendant Lau Pun-hei's conduct at Hong Kong Stadium was punishable by a catch-all clause of the National Anthem Ordinance , adding that it amounted to undermining the dignity of ' March of the Volunteers ' as a symbol and sign of the People's Republic of China. Lau, a Year Two political science student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was among three spectators arrested for an alleged violation of the 2020 ordinance during the contest between the city's team and Iran on June 6, 2024. The trial earlier this year heard that police pulled the student aside at half-time after reviewing video footage and found he had turned away from the pitch and players and lowered his head while the national anthem was playing. Police Superintendent Sean Lin, who videotaped the spectators' stand that night, said Lau had stood normally with his head facing forward when Iran's national anthem was played moments earlier. The ordinance states that a person commits an offence if he or she publicly and intentionally insults the national anthem 'in any way'.
The Star
6 days ago
- The Star
Ex-Hong Kong social worker given community service for defrauding authorities
A retired Hong Kong social worker behind a dropped legal challenge arising from the San Tin Technopole project has been sentenced to community service for defrauding authorities out of HK$16,780 (US$2,138) in welfare benefits. Eastern Court on Thursday adopted a probation officer's recommendation to sentence Eddie Tse Sai-kit to 120 hours of unpaid community work after his lawyer said he 'recklessly' understated his earnings to obtain four months' worth of welfare allowances last year. A presentencing report cited the 68-year-old defendant as saying he had mistakenly believed that he only needed to report his average monthly income over the year in his application to the Social Welfare Department. Acting Principal Magistrate David Cheung Chi-wai at one point questioned whether the court should accept the 68-year-old defendant's earlier guilty plea, before concluding that his failure to make an accurate declaration went beyond mere negligence and deserved criminal sanction. Cheung also noted that Tse had admitted wrongdoing at the first opportunity and was remorseful. Tse was arrested early this year while he was challenging an environmental impact assessment report that endorsed the development of a technology hub near the mainland Chinese border. Despite securing permission from the High Court to commence judicial review proceedings, Tse later dropped the case, citing 'widespread harassment and intimidation'. A pro-Beijing newspaper had also depicted Tse as an activist 'disrupting Hong Kong' by blindly opposing development under the guise of promoting environmental preservation. According to a prosecution case summary, Tse applied for an Old Age Living Allowance of HK$4,195 in June 2023 and claimed his monthly income was HK$5,000, which was below the limit of HK$10,710 at the time. He received a total of HK$80,460 from the department between July 2023 and December 2024. But the social worker failed to declare his earnings from Polytechnic University, where he had worked as a part-time fieldwork supervisor from January 2021 to May this year. Tse earned an additional monthly salary of between HK$6,000 and HK$19,200 from June to December last year for his work at the university, according to the summary. He also failed to notify the department that he had accepted a one-off 'honorarium' of HK$24,000 from the Social Workers Registration Board for serving on its disciplinary committee panel. An investigation concluded Tse would not have been entitled to the monthly allowance in July, August, November and December last year – an amount totalling HK$16,780 – if he had not concealed his income. Tse pleaded guilty earlier this month to four counts of fraud. Magistrate Cheung had ordered that Tse pay HK$16,780 in compensation to the department as part of his penalty. The defence said in a previous hearing that Tse had retired from social work after his arrest. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
South China Morning Post
24-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
Retired Hong Kong social worker given community service for defrauding authorities
A retired Hong Kong social worker behind a dropped legal challenge arising from the San Tin Technopole project has been sentenced to community service for defrauding authorities out of HK$16,780 (US$2,138) in welfare benefits. Advertisement Eastern Court on Thursday adopted a probation officer's recommendation to sentence Eddie Tse Sai-kit to 120 hours of unpaid community work after his lawyer said he 'recklessly' understated his earnings to obtain four months' worth of old age living allowances last year. A presentencing report cited the 68-year-old defendant as saying he had mistakenly believed that he only needed to report his average monthly income over the year in his application to the Social Welfare Department. Acting Principal Magistrate David Cheung Chi-wai at one point questioned whether the court should accept the 68-year-old defendant's earlier guilty plea , before finding that his failure to make an accurate declaration went beyond mere negligence and deserved criminal sanction. Cheung also noted that Tse had admitted wrongdoing at the first opportunity and was remorseful. Advertisement Tse was arrested early this year while he was challenging an environmental impact assessment report that endorsed the development of a technology hub near the mainland Chinese border
The Star
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Hong Kong DSE documentary star gets probation after second theft offence
A Hong Kong student who starred in a popular web documentary about secondary school public exams has been placed on probation after a court agreed to give him 'one last chance' following his second shoplifting offence in a year. Eastern Court accepted a probation officer's recommendation and handed Tang Ngai-hong a 12-month probation order on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to theft earlier this month. The 19-year-old admitted stealing a bag of fruit and two packets of potato chips worth a total of HK$61.80 (US$7.87) from the Fresh supermarket at Kornhill Plaza North in Quarry Bay on January 5. The offence took place just five months after Tang was fined HK$3,000 for stealing nearly HK$700 worth of food items from the Kowloon Bay branch of Japanese discount chain store Don Don Donki on May 8, 2024. Acting Principal Magistrate David Cheung Chi-wai said he would give Tang 'one last chance' given his timely plea. The defendant must maintain the peace and observe an array of conditions, including a requirement to attend psychological counselling sessions. Tang, now a first-year student at the University of Hong Kong School of Professional and Continuing Education, was the main subject of a documentary web series about the Diploma of Secondary Education examination by YouTube channel Trial and Error. The channel with 561,000 subscribers spent more than eight months in 2023 documenting Tang's journey through the university entrance exam. The 10-episode online series received overwhelmingly positive responses, with more than a million views on YouTube. The episodes were later re-edited into a full-length documentary feature titled Once Upon a Time in HKDSE , released in cinemas in July last year. It has raked in more than HK$5 million at the box office. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
