By Jessie Pang
HONG KONG, Feb 11 (Reuters) – A Hong Kong court found the father of a wanted activist guilty of a national security violation on Wednesday after he tried to end her insurance policy and withdraw the funds, drawing international criticism for the targeting of relatives of pro-democracy campaigners.
Kwok Yin-sang, 69, is the first person to be charged under a Hong Kong law known as Article 23 that expands on a Beijing-imposed national security law, for “attempting to deal with, directly or indirectly, any funds or other financial assets or economic resources” belonging to an absconder.
His daughter, Anna Kwok, helps lead the Washington-based advocacy group Hong Kong Democracy Council, and is one of 34 overseas activists wanted by Hong Kong national security police. She is accused of colluding with foreign forces and police have offered a bounty of HK$1 million ($127,400) for her arrest.
Kwok Yin-sang was accused of trying to withdraw funds totalling HK$88,609 ($11,342) from an insurance policy which he bought for her when she was almost two years old. He had pleaded not guilty and did not testify at the trial.
Acting Principal Magistrate Cheng Lim-chi said since Anna Kwok is a fugitive, directly or indirectly handling her insurance policy is illegal.
A sentence will be handed down on Feb 26. Kwok Yin-sang faces a maximum prison sentence of seven years, but the sentencing is capped at two years at the magistrate court level.
During arguments on sentencing, defence lawyer Steven Kwan asked the judge to consider a 14-day prison term, as Kwok Yin-sang only intended to get back the money back for himself but no evidence shows that it would go to his daughter.
According to the prosecution, when Kwok was arrested, he said under police caution: “I know my daughter is wanted by the Security Bureau. I was the one paying for her insurance policy. Since she’s no longer in Hong Kong, I just cut it.”
Kwok Yin-sang’s bail was revoked after the conviction and he appeared calm and waved to his family as he was taken back into custody.
During the closing submission, defence lawyer Kwan argued that section 89 and 90 of Article 23 should not apply in a case where a person was simply handling an insurance policy he had purchased a long time ago for his children.
“This … is a form of prosecution based on family ties,” Kwan said.
Anna Kwok’s brother was also arrested for the same crime and is currently on bail.
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said punishing a father for his daughter’s peaceful activism is “an alarming act of collective punishment that has no place under international human rights law”.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang; Editing by James Pomfret and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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