Council Chairwoman Spared Jail After Doxxing Police

The chairwoman of Central and Western District Council, Cheng Lai-king, was given a 28-day suspended jail sentence on Monday for violating an injunction against doxxing the police.

The Democratic Party politician had shared a Facebook post which included the name of an officer alleged to have shot an Indonesian journalist in the eye during a protest last November.

The lawyer for the Department of Justice urged the High Court to jail Cheng being as she is a veteran politician and had some 30,000 followers on Facebook.

But Cheng's lawyer, Martin Lee, argued that his client should not be given a heavier sentence simply because of the large number of followers she had on social media.

He said she was very remorseful about what had been a mistake, and she had deleted the post she shared after reporters and friends reminded her about the injunction.

Flanked by fellow party members outside court, Cheng said her case was nothing compared with those of anti-government protesters, but she could now breathe a sigh of relief.

Cheng pleaded guilty to contempt of court. She was arrested in March, with police originally saying they suspected her of a sedition offence under a colonial era law prohibiting inciting hatred or contempt against the government.

Welcoming the ruling, the police said it could deter others from committing similar offences in future.

Chief inspector Wilson Fan said more than 3,800 officers have been doxxed so far, and the force was seeking legal advice in 16 other cases over the alleged breach of injunction orders. He warned people not to disclose the personal information of officers as the orders remain in force.

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