National flag desecrator jailed after govt appeal

The Court of Appeal says the lower court erred in making a community service order for an act which 'gravely undermined the dignity of the state'. File photo: RTHK

Richard Pyne reports

An anti-government protester who was given community service for desecrating the national flag last year has now been jailed for 20 days, after the High Court ruled in favour of an appeal by prosecutors for a custodial sentence.



Law Man-chung had been sentenced to 200 hours of community service by Sha Tin Magistrates' court last year, after pleading guilty to trampling on a flag and throwing it into a bin during a protest in Sha Tin in September.



The Department of Justice then lodged an appeal over the sentence, saying a jail term was warranted for such an act.



In its ruling, the Court of Appeal said Law's behaviour had "gravely undermined the dignity of the state". It said the lower court had erred by only giving Law community service.



The appeal court said since the offence was committed in the presence of a large crowd of people, this had the effect of inciting them, and therefore the court must impose a deterrent sentence.



Law's "act of desecrating the national flag was seriously bad and had gravely undermined the dignity of the state that the national flag represents," the judges said.



Even taking into account his clear record, and suitability for community service according to a report, "an immediate custodial sentence is still the only sentencing option", the appeal court said.



"The trial magistrate erred in principle when passing sentence and failed to fully comprehend the relevant facts of the case and the various aggravating factors," the judges added.



They said a prison term of just 20 days was warranted as Law had pleaded guilty and had already completed 64 hours of community service, before the coronavirus epidemic interrupted this.



The original sentence had been widely criticised by pro-establishment figures, including former Chief Executive CY Leung, who wrote on Facebook that the ruling would anger the whole country and must be appealed.



Leung had offered a HK$1 million reward for information regarding another incident last year when a Chinese flag was thrown into the sea off Tsim Sha Tsui.