Hong Kong man with autism handed 12 months probation over inciting others to kill city’s leader and police online
Hong Kong Free Press
A Hong Kong man with autism has been sentenced to a 12-month probation order, after he pleaded guilty to inciting others to kill the chief executive and police officers.
District Judge Josiah Lam on Wednesday ordered defendant Chan Chun-ho, 21, to follow a probation order of 12 months, during which he must abide by the law, maintain good behaviour, receive medical treatment and take medication for his mental condition.
Chan had been detained for more than seven months since he was arrested last October on one count of inciting others to intend to cause grievous bodily harm.
He was said to have made 12 Facebook posts last September and October, including posting on the profiles of two other users he had never met. Chan’s posts referred to the police as “dogs” and he urged people to kill officers. He also called on people to bring weapons and storm the Chief Executive’s Office, the Legislative Council Complex and the government headquarters.
Chan deleted his Facebook account two days prior to his arrest.
In handing out the probation order, the judge said Chan’s lawyer had argued that the defendant lacked judgement due to his mental condition and his posts did not cause any real harm or lead to any illegal act.
According to the assessment by two government psychiatrists, Chan’s emotions had become more stable after he received medication during his detention. Although the defendant still wanted to “become the chief executive to save Hong Kong,” there was no need to place him under a mandatory hospital order.
The judge said Chan’s “wild and boastful words” were made while he was mentally disturbed at the time of the offence. The seven months Chan spent behind bars pending the legal proceedings already offered deterrence and a probation order would be more beneficial to the defendant, his family and society, Lam said.
At the start of Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Chan’s lawyer submitted a handwritten mitigation letter from the defendant’s mother, who said she had to take responsibility for “not teaching Chun-ho well.”
In response, judge Lam said Chan’s mother had made her best effort in teaching the defendant and he did not receive sufficient support for his “special condition.”
Chan was asked to stand up in the dock and he told the judge that he knew what he did was wrong and he “would not commit [the crime] again.”
“The online world is not virtual, it is part of the real world… some people may say talk nonsense online. Don’t agree with them, or give them a ‘like’,” Lam said in Cantonese.
The judge added if the defendant was brought back to court due to a violation of the probation order, he could be “locked up for a long time.”
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