Hong Kong woman denied bail after allegedly damaging 55 National Day banners and posters
Hong Kong Free Press
A Hong Kong woman has been denied bail after allegedly damaging 55 National Day banners and posters put up by two pro-establishment parties across Tsuen Wan.
Lam Ho-yan, a 64-year-old retiree, appeared before Magistrate Ivy Chui at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday. She has faces eight charges of criminal damage to property and one count of possession of an instrument fit for unlawful purpose.
Lam’s application for bail was denied on Wednesday, with Chui saying she should be detained until her case is next mentioned in court on December 11.
Two psychiatric reports provided by the prosecution said Lam was capable of giving testimony in court, but suggested that Lam should serve three-month “hospital order” if convicted, local media outlets reported.
According to the Mental Health Ordinance, the courts can issue a hospital order to detain a person in the Correctional Services Department Psychiatric Centre or a psychiatric hospital if two registered medical practitioners confirm the person has a mental disorder.
Lam was charged over damaging five National Day banners arranged by the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, and 48 banners and two posters organised by the city’s largest pro-establishment party the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong with scissors on October 3, two days after the city celebrated China’s National Day, the court heard on Wednesday.
These banners and posters were hung outside multiple schools, a hotel, a playground and on a footbridge in Tsuen Wan.
The defendant was also charged with carrying an instrument with unlawful purpose in public in Tsuen Wan on October 4.
Earlier in October, the police received reports of National Day banners and posters being damaged in Tsuen Wan and initiated an investigation into the incident, local media outlets reported.
Anyone convicted of criminal damage to property could face up to 10 years’ jail time, while a person convicted of possession of an instrument fit for unlawful purpose will be punished by a fine of up to HK$5,000 or imprisonment for up to two years.
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