2 members of Hong Kong speech therapists’ union denied bail after being charged over series of allegedly seditious children’s books
- Union chairwoman Lai Man-ling and deputy Melody Yeung among five members arrested in early morning raids over a series of children’s books
- Police said books, which feature sheep standing up to invading wolves, were intended to incite hatred against government
Two leaders of a speech therapists’ union accused of inciting hatred against the Hong Kong government with a series of children’s books were denied bail on Friday after being charged with conspiracy to distribute seditious materials under a colonial-era law.
General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists chairwoman Lai Man-ling, 25, and deputy chairwoman Melody Yeung Yat-yee, 27, appeared at West Kowloon Court a day after they were picked up by national security officers.
The two speech therapists each face one count of conspiring to publish, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications under the Crimes Ordinance. The case was heard by Chief Magistrate Victor So Wai-tak, one of the judges designated to handle national security cases.
Prosecutor Laura Ng Shuk-kuen requested a month’s time for police to conduct investigations and consider whether to press further charges against the duo and three other union members who were also arrested on Thursday.
She also asked So to apply the national security law in throwing out the pair’s bail bids. The legislation’s higher threshold, she argued, was also applicable to local laws dealing with offences that endanger national security.
The law, which criminalises acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, provides that defendants should not be released on bail unless a judge is satisfied they have ceased to pose a threat to national security.
