Ousted incumbents in Hong Kong district council polls cite smears, bogus claims in petitioning court to overturn results
- Complaints among the four range from vandalised offices to being falsely accused of pro-establishment ties
- The complaints filed to the High Court bring to seven so far filed ahead of the January 29 deadline
In complaints filed to the High Court on Wednesday, Wong Fu-sang and Kelly Tung Kin-lei, members of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, and independent candidates Chan Kai-wai and Jimmy Lam Pok each sought to overturn the election wins of their pro-democracy rivals.
They join three other previously filed petitions, including one from the pro-democracy camp on Monday.
In his filing, Wong, who lost Sha Tin district’s Kwong Hong constituency to Ricardo Liao Pak Hong by a vote of 3,333 to 2,081, alleged Liao had used the Telegram messaging app to call for the harassment of he and his supporters.
He also said one of his campaigning booths had been besieged by cursing opposition voters, while others vandalised his district office, damaged his election banners and posted false claims about him on so-called Lennon Walls, where anti-government protesters frequently affix messages of support for the protest movement.
Liao told the Post that while he had opened a Telegram chat group for voters to discuss community affairs, he could neither monitor nor restrain what members discussed on the app.
