Ex-telecoms Worker Jailed For Two Years For Doxxing

A former telecoms worker was on Tuesday jailed two years for doxxing a relative of a police officer during last year's anti-government protests.

Chan King-hei, 33, used the computer system of Hong Kong Telecommunications to obtain the Chinese and English names, as well as the ID card and phone numbers of the father of a police inspector. Chan then spread this information via a doxxing group on a Telegram channel.

He was also found guilty of dishonestly obtaining the personal particulars of 20 police officers and some of their relatives, as well as three public figures, although this information was kept on his computer and was not made public.

Chan was convicted of obtaining access to a computer with a view to dishonest gain, as well as disclosing others’ data without consent.

District Court Judge Frankie Yiu said the case was serious as it had caused great psychological harm to the inspector’s father, and led him to fear for his family’s safety.

The judge said he was not convinced by the suggestion that the defendant had acted on impulse, given that he had carried out a lot of searches on his company’s computer system to obtain the information.

Yiu said although some of the information was not made public, there was a risk that it could have been leaked.

The judge said a deterrent sentence was needed to prevent other people from committing the same offences.

In mitigation, a defence lawyer had said that Chan felt remorseful and was ashamed of his action. The lawyer added that Chan's friends, colleagues and parents were all shocked by his behaviour, describing him as a timid introvert rather than a radical.

Some of Chan's supporters in court shouted and cried as the two-year jail sentence was announced.

Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung released a statement welcoming the ruling, noting that it was the first conviction under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) since it was amended in 2012.

"It is saddening that doxxing acts often lead to cyberbullying or even criminal intimidation of the victims and their family members, which in turn causes continuous distress and serious psychological harm to the persons concerned. The cyber world is not beyond the law," Chung said.

"Other than being morally wrong, doxxing acts may constitute criminal offence under the PDPO or other legislation. I urge members of the public not to flout the law and not to hurt others while harming themselves."