Magistrate apologizes for sentencing a reporter wrongly

A magistrate at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts apologized after she handed down a suspended sentence for a reporter convicted of obstructing the police.  

Principal magistrate Ada Yim Shun-yee originally sentenced Ho Ka-yan, 27, a female reporter for Ben Yu Entertainment, to four-week imprisonment after finding her guilty of resisting a police officer in the due execution of her duty during a protest in Mong Kok in May last year. 

The obstruction took place inside a public toilet on Sai Yee Street, when Ho tried to take pictures of officers making arrest of protesters inside. 

Yim said Ho intentionally resisted a female officer when she attempted to leave the scene without complying with officer's stop and search. Yet Ho's action didn't count as fierce resistance and officers at the scene should not have used pepper spray at that time. 

The reporter filed a complaint against a female officer and three male officers, saying they once kneeled on her neck in the washroom. 

Sentencing her today, Yim decided on four-week imprisonment for the reporter, suspended for two years --- given that the reporter was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. 

Yet two hours after the hearing ended, Yim found out she cannot cannot hand down a suspended sentence for the charge of obstructing a police officer. 

Yim apologized in court and admitted she had made a mistake. She also pointed out that she must “review the sentence herself”. 

The case was adjourned to July 17 and Ho was released on bail.