Suspended jail sentence for clerk over ballot call

A clerk was sentenced to two months in prison, suspended for two years, for sharing a social media post that incited others not to cast their ballot in last month's district council election.

Yeung Sze-wing, 51, pleaded guilty yesterday in an Eastern magistrate's court to one count of engaging in illegal conduct to incite others to cast invalid votes under the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance during the election on December 10.

In mitigation yesterday, her lawyer said Yeung had fully cooperated with the Independent Commission Against Corruption, which enforces electoral laws, and admitted her wrongdoings under caution.

Also presented were letters from family, friends and supervisors, who said Yeung, despite being an introvert, has been taking care of her mentally retarded elder brother and her father, who had suffered from a stroke.

"Yeung is kind and had only committed the offense in a passing moment of folly when she underestimated its legal consequences, so a criminal record is already a costly lesson for Yeung," the lawyer said.

Principal magistrate Ivy Chui Yee-mei said "Yeung's act undermined the fairness of an election and the offense was serious in nature."

But she accepted that Yeung had committed the crime out of "momentary stupidity" and handed down the suspended sentence after taking into consideration her guilty plea and other mitigating factors.

The court heard that during the election last month, Yeung reposted an online post by disqualified Sham Shui Po councilor Leos Lee Man-ho in another Facebook group.

Lee's post, made on December 3 on his personal social media page, called for a boycott, which Yeung reposted the next day along with her additions about names and ID card numbers.

Yeung admitted to making the online post and being aware that writing one's name and ID card number on a ballot paper would render it invalid.

The ICAC said the judiciary has already issued an arrest warrant for Lee, 29, who had left Hong Kong.

It also said the ordinance has extraterritorial effect and applies to all conduct concerning an election, be it engaged in Hong Kong or elsewhere.

Inciting others to cast invalid votes in an election carries a penalty of up to three years and a fine of HK$200,000 upon conviction.