7 days ago
Man found guilty of desecrating Chinese, Hong Kong flags seeks to overturn conviction at city's apex court
A Hong Kong man with autism who was found guilty of desecrating flags on National Day three years ago has sought to overturn his conviction at the city's top court.
Wong Chun-lok, who was 19 at the time, was said to have publicly and intentionally desecrated a national flag and four Hong Kong flags on October 1, 2022, in Sham Shui Po by bending the flagpoles.
The defendant denied the charges and said he had been triggered by the bright colours of the flags, InMedia reported.
He was sentenced to a rehabilitation centre in June 2023, after a magistrates' court ruled that he was guilty, saying he 'chose' to desecrate the flags and that it was a 'serious' offence.
Rehabilitation centres are for young offenders between the ages of 14 and 20 who have not previously been sentenced to institutions, including prisons, training centres, or detention centres. The maximum sentence is nine months.
Wong is now attempting to appeal his conviction at the Court of Final Appeal (CFA).
According to the CFA's website, Wong has submitted an application to challenge the verdict, but no date for the hearing has yet been scheduled.
Previous appeal attempt
In March, Wong tried to challenge his conviction at the High Court, where his legal representative argued that the trial magistrate had not properly considered Wong's 'special conditions' and how they might have affected his intention to commit the offence.
His representative also said Wong's previous lawyer had not requested the court to accommodate Wong's needs, such as asking him to give testimony at a slower pace, given his language level was estimated to be only at a primary four level.
High Court Judge Frankie Yiu shot down the legal challenge.
The judge said that the magistrate took into account Wong's mental disorder but did not accept his testimony because Wong said in court that he was targeting the flagpoles, yet in his earlier statements before the trial, he said he wanted to tear apart the flags.
'There is nothing wrong with the magistrate refusing to accept his evidence because [the defendant] gave completely different explanations,' Yiu wrote in Chinese, explaining his reasons for dismissing the appeal.
Hong Kong amended the National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance in September 2021, which outlaws the desecration of the Chinese national flag and national emblem on the internet.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of a HK$50,000 fine and three years behind bars.
