Hong Kong district councillor arrested after failing to appear in court over late tax return
Hong Kong Free Press
A Hong Kong district councillor has been scheduled to appear in court on Monday following his arrest over his failure to attend a summons hearing in early January.
Sai Kung district councillor Sky Li is accused of not submitting his tax return on time.
Li, who was apprehended earlier this month and was granted bail, was scheduled to appear at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts for a first mention on Monday, local media reported.
According to police, a 43-year-old man was given a summons by a court for not handing in his tax form on time, but did not attend a summons hearing in court as required. He was then arrested on January 9 for failing to comply with a hearing notice.
The Home Affairs Department, which oversees the city’s District Councils, said it was aware that Li had been granted bail and was scheduled to appear in court on Monday. It added that it would not comment as judicial proceedings had begun.
“The government has all along attached great importance to the character and conduct of district councillors, and will definitely handle this seriously,” the department said in a Chinese-language email to HKFP on Monday.
Under the District Council Ordinance, a district councillor will be disqualified if they have been convicted and jailed for more than three months.
Li began his term in January after a government overhaul of the District Council elections that favoured appointed members and made democratically elected seats a minority. Prior to the shake-up, almost all district councillors were elected by the public.
Following the overhaul, the number of publicly elected seats was slashed to 88. Another 179 seats were appointed by the chief executive, while the remaining 176 seats were elected via a small-circle election in which only members of government-appointed committees could take part.
Li, who is not affiliated with any political party, was elected through the small-circle vote.
His Facebook profile has remained active since his arrest.
On Saturday, he shared photos on Facebook of him handing out Lunar New Year couplets to Sai Kung residents.
On Thursday, he wrote on Facebook that he attended an event by the government’s Office of the Communications Authority in which district councillors and their staff were invited to be “anti-phone deception ambassadors” amid an increase in phone scams.
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