University student sentenced to 180 hours of community service for insulting national anthem
發佈日期: 2025-08-27 22:07
TVB News
A university student was today sentenced to 180 hours of community service after being found guilty of insulting the national anthem.
The defendant turned his back to the football pitch of Hong Kong Stadium when the song was played at a World Cup qualifier last year.
Defendant Lau Pun-hei, 19 years old at the time of the incident, arrived at Eastern Magistrates' Courts in the morning.
During the World Cup Asian qualifier football match in June last year, when the Hong Kong team played against Iran at Hong Kong Stadium, the defendant was arrested after turning his back to the pitch when the national anthem was played.
Pending the defendant's probation report, the sentencing -- originally scheduled for August 13th -- was adjourned until today.
The defendant's lawyer said in his plea that Lau is only a university student and it's unlikely he will commit the offence again, and Lau understood how his behaviour at the time was irrational, so they hope the court could hand down a community service order.
After reviewing the defendant's background and probation report, magistrate Kestrel Lam noted the defendant, being a Chinese University of Hong Kong student at the Department of Social Sciences and Public Administration, has been described as a mature, self-disciplined and hardworking person, and he had won the best debater award in secondary school competitions. He also took up a part-time job as a waiter to help support his family.
Considering the offence was not premeditated, the act of disrespecting the national anthem was not the most severe, and no violence was involved, nor was the crowd provoked, the magistrate said the impact was relatively minor and the chance of reoffending was low. With that, the defendant was sentenced to 180 hours of community service.
After hearing the verdict, Lau left the courthouse accompanied by relatives and friends.
Police said the magistrate had taken deterrence into account and the force respects the court's sentence.
Police remind the public that insulting the national anthem is punishable by up to three years in prison and a maximum fine of 50,000 dollars.
