20th March 2023 – (Hong Kong) Former police officer, Chui Chun-man, has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for inciting hatred and using hate speech towards a deceased female marine police officer Kary Lam Yuen-yee. The incident occurred in September 2019 when officer Lam fell off a speedboat while intercepting a smuggling operation near Sha Chau. Tsui, who was found to have posted derogatory comments about Lam on the police department’s Facebook page, denied committing any crimes with an inciting intent. However, after a trial last month, he was found guilty and sentenced to prison by magistrate, Veronica Heung.
During the trial, it was revealed that Chui intentionally used his status as a police officer to increase the credibility of his hate speech against the police department and Lam. The judge deemed Tsui’s actions to be extremely serious and stated that imprisonment was necessary. The defence applied for bail pending appeal but was denied.
Chui, 28 years old, had previously served as a police officer and was commended 12 times during his tenure. He resigned from the police force two months after the incident and is currently unemployed, studying for a higher diploma at a vocational college. The defence argued that Chui had given up a well-paid job in the hotel industry to pursue his dream of becoming a police officer, but the judge cited Chui’s background report, which stated that his mother was a factory worker in mainland China. The defence also claimed that Chui’s actions were a result of being taunted by his superior officer, causing him to act impulsively. Chui expressed shame and remorse for his actions during the trial and apologised to the victim and her family.