Former Hong Kong lawmaker jailed for 4 months for exposing ICAC investigation into police commander
- Lam Cheuk-ting jailed for exposing inquiry into conduct of Superintendent Yau Nai-keung following violence at Yuen Long MTR station in 2019
- Court says Lam’s remarks breached Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, which forbids disclosure of corruption investigations
Former Hong Kong opposition lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting has been jailed for four months for exposing a corruption investigation into a police commander on duty when a mob attacked protesters and commuters at Yuen Long MTR station on July 21, 2019.
Eastern Court Magistrate Jacky Ip Kai-leung rejected Lam’s defence that it was in the public interest for him to divulge the information because of Yau’s selection to lead a police investigation into the incident.
Instead, the magistrate said the revelation could have alerted the police commander and risked the destruction of evidence before the anti-corruption watchdog could potentially charge him for any alleged misconduct.
After a preliminary investigation on the night of the incident, Yau told the press that his team had found no rods in a nearby village where most of the assailants had gathered after the attack and uncovered no signs of criminal activity. He later became a regional commander in the northern New Territories.
