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Prosecutors ask appeal court to jail Hong Kong protester who was given community service for desecrating Chinese flag
- Deputy director of public prosecutions Vinci Lam argues that community service is a ‘manifestly inadequate’ sentence for the offence
- But defence counsel Erik Shum Sze-man says 200 hours of community service is reasonable for a first-time offender who has shown remorse
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Hong Kong prosecutors have asked the appeal court to jail a protester who was given community service for desecrating the Chinese flag during an anti-government protest last year, after his sentence sparked criticisms from a former city leader and the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece.
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Deputy director of public prosecutions Vinci Lam Wing-sai argued that community service was a “manifestly inadequate” sentence and that the magistrate was “wrong in principle” in sparing Law Man-chung, 21, jail.
“The applicant believes a custodial sentence is appropriate,” Lam said on Wednesday.
The prosecutor also urged the Court of Appeal to clarify the sentencing considerations for the lower courts to follow, and specifically asked whether jail terms were reserved for repeat offenders or those who had burned flags, which Law did not.
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Defence counsel Erik Shum Sze-man countered that 200 hours of community service was reasonable for a first-time offender who had shown remorse, and observed that general sentencing guidelines might be of limited use as the crime might take various forms.
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