Flag Burner Jailed After Sentence Review

A court has jailed a man for five weeks in a national flag burning case after the government asked for a review of the community service punishment originally given to the offender.

Tang Chi-lok, 21, had been sentenced to 240 hours of service in April for burning the flag during a protest at Tuen Mun Park last September.

The Department of Justice then applied for a review of the sentence, saying the flag in question was government property, that it was burnt and trampled on, and a deterrent sentence should be imposed to highlight the seriousness of this case.

In handing down the new sentence on Friday, acting top Tuen Mun magistrate Cheung Kit-yee acknowledged that she did not fully consider the aggravating factors in coming up with her original sentence, such as the fact that the flag was government property.

She also said other factors included the possibility that the defendant's action could have endangered other people and their property.