40 months in jail for activist Tam

Activist Tam Tak-chi has been sentenced to 40 months in prison and fined HK$5,000 in District Court after being convicted on 11 charges.

The first person convicted under the colonial-era sedition law since before 1997, Tam - a former vice chairman of People Power and known as "Fast Beat" from his time on radio - was convicted on seven counts of using seditious words, incitement to take part in an unauthorized assembly, disorderly conduct, holding an unauthorized assembly and refusing to obey an order by an authorized officer.

District Court Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi said Tam, 50, had abandoned moral boundaries in an attempt to be elected a legislator so he could enjoy the pay that came with the job as well as the power and status.

Tam ran in district council elections in 2015 and 2019 and the legislative council election in 2016, but all his efforts failed.

The defense had argued Tam was eager to maintain a free Hong Kong society and respect for free speech and he pursued those aims without thoughts of personal benefits.

But Chan rejected that, saying for Tam it was worth using government money to attack the government while strengthening his political power. He asked: "If this is not personal interest what else can it be?"

Chan also said although Tam is a Christian with two master's degrees in religious studies from Chinese University he did act like a forgiving missionary.

"What I saw is a 50-year-old vulgar person who hurled abuse without limit and even spread his curses to other people's next generations," he said.

Tam's convictions were based on him trying to incite "hatred or contempt" against the administration, including his use of the now-banned phrase "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" and also "Death to corrupted police families."

His counsel, Edwin Choy Wai-bond, SC, said in mitigation that the charges against Tam were based on events in the first half of 2020 before the national security law was enacted by Beijing.

And Tam did not advocate violence and did not have significant influence as he is not rich or powerful, Choy added.

But Chan countered that the court could not ignore social and political facts.

A series of violent incidents in the second half of 2019 challenged the political environment, public peace and the government's standing until there was turning point on June 30, 2020 when the national security law was implemented, Chan said.

He also found a Tam claim of not knowing the seriousness of offenses "surprising and baffling" as Tam had support from a legal team and he "tried to be smart" by using health seminars as an excuse to get around the social gathering rule.

Tam also claimed he was not afraid of being punished, Chan said, adding that he had enhanced Tam's time behind bars as some offenses occurred when he was on court bail.

So he handed down a two-year prison term for Tam's incitement of an unauthorized assembly and 21 months for the seven counts of using seditious words. Twelve months were to be served consecutively with other prison terms: one month for disorderly conduct and one-and-a-half years for holding an unauthorized assembly, with three months running consecutively with other terms.

There was also a fine of HK$5,000 for refusing to obey an officer's order.

Tam has been on remand for more than 18 months since his arrest in September 2020, but his 40-month prison term may not be the end of his legal troubles: he is charged with subversion in another national security case.

sophie.hui@singtaonewscorp.com