Hong Kong elections: 4 more arrested on suspicion of inciting boycott of Legislative Council poll

The three men and one woman are accused of breaching a recently amended law forbidding encouraging ‘another person not to vote, or to cast an invalid vote’

Meanwhile, overseas calls for a boycott continued, with fugitive activist Sunny Cheung urging voters to ‘shame the regime’ by staying home on Sunday

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Pedestrians in Admiralty pass under banners promoting the Legislative Council election on Sunday. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 8:14pm, 15 Dec 2021Updated: 11:01pm, 15 Dec 2021

Hong Kong’s anti-graft agency has arrested four more people accused of inciting others to skip Sunday’s Legislative Council poll or cast blank ballots, as overseas calls for an outright boycott continued.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Wednesday detained three men and one woman, aged 22 to 58, for allegedly breaching the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance, which was amended earlier this year to outlaw publicly “inciting another person not to vote, or to cast an invalid vote” during an election period.

If convicted, the suspects face a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a HK$200,000 (US$25,600) fine.

Authorities seized a number of mobile phones and two computers during the arrests, and the four suspects have since been released on bail, according to a spokesman for the ICAC, who did not rule out further enforcement actions.

Headquarters of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in Hong Kong. Photo: Xinhua

Wednesday’s operation, which took the total number of people arrested for the offence to 10, came the same day that fugitive activist Sunny Cheung Kwan-yang – who is seeking asylum in the United States – urged residents to “shame the regime” by staying home on Sunday.