China: Hong Kong media reporter convicted and fined (Update)
Event- Country
- China
- Initial Date
- Apr 22, 2021
- Event Description
Bao Choy Yuk Ling, a freelance producer with Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), was convicted on April 22 of “making false statements” to obtain government data for her investigative report. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemns Hong Kong authorities’ use of legal action to target members of the press.
Choy was charged with two counts of “knowingly making a false statement” to obtain car license plate records from the government’s database. The 37-year-old was fined HKD $6,000 (USD $773) on April 22 for the offenses to which she pleaded not guilty.
The data was used for an episode of RTHK’s documentary programme, Hong Kong Conncetion, that exposes the Hong Kong police’s delayed response to a mob attack on pro-democracy protesters and civilians in Yuen Long, Hong Kong on July 21, 2019.
The prosecution of Choy has shocked Hong Kong media, as it had been a common practice for journalists to obtain government data when reporting.
The court, however, determined on April 22 that Choy had used the data for her report instead of the “traffic and transport related purposes” justification that Choy provided to authorities for permission to access the data and was therefore punishable.
The Hong Kong Journalist Association (HKJA) and seven other media groups and trade unions have issued a joint statement to express their indignation. The statement also warned that legal attack on freedom of the press sends a chilling effect in Hong Kong’s media.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Online
- HRD
- Media Worker
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 22.265119180721204
Longitude: 114.17998888174037
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 22 April 2021, Bao Choy Yuk-ling, media worker, was sentenced to a fine for realising a documentary criticising police inaction in a violence episode against pro-democracy defenders by a court in Hong Kong, China.
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