Hong Kong national security police have charged a 57-year-old man over allegedly publishing posts with seditious intentions on social platforms to incite hatred towards local and central authorities.
The force said on Wednesday that officers from the National Security Department apprehended the suspect in Hung Hom the previous day.
“An investigation revealed that the arrested man was suspected of repeatedly publishing posts with seditious intentions on social platforms, with content provoking hatred towards the central authorities and the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as well as inciting violence,” police said.
Police charged the man with one count of “knowingly publishing publications that had a seditious intention”. The suspect will be brought before the West Kowloon Court in the afternoon.
The force reminds members of the public that “knowingly publishing publications that had a seditious intention” is a serious crime. Offenders can be sentenced to a maximum penalty of seven years in jail on the first conviction.
“Members of the public are urged not to defy the law,” police said.