Hong Kong analyst programmer who shared online call to boycott vote gets suspended jail sentence

Sam Man, 38, was arrested after reposting Facebook video of political commentator encouraging others to boycott December 10 district council election

Court jails Man for two months but suspends term for 1½ years, given his early guilty plea to engaging in illegal conduct to incite another person not to vote

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Fanling Court has handed suspended jail sentence to a Hong Kong analyst programmer. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 4:02pm, 15 Jan 2024Updated: 9:46pm, 16 Jan 2024

A 38-year-old analyst programmer has been handed a suspended jail sentence for sharing a social media call encouraging others to boycott last month’s “patriots-only” district council election in Hong Kong.

Sam Man Wing-fung on Monday pleaded guilty at Fanling Court to a count of engaging in illegal conduct to incite another person not to vote, an offence punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment and a HK$200,000 (US$25,571) fine under the amended Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance.

Acting principal magistrate Peony Wong Nga-yan jailed Man for two months but suspended the term for 1½ years, given his early guilty plea and the little impact the offence had on the election.

Ten previous rulings involving a similar charge also ended with the defendant receiving a suspended sentence.

Political commentator Wong Sai-chak called on voters in a Facebook video to skip the December 10 poll. Photo: YouTube/Martin Oei

Man was arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption after he reposted a Facebook live video of German-based 46-year-old political commentator Wong Sai-chak urging voters to turn their backs on the December 10 “pseudo-election”.

Wong, also known as Martin Oei, complained in his post about the city’s new electoral system, which was introduced after Beijing imposed the national security law to ensure only those deemed patriotic by authorities could hold public office.