Lam Cheuk-ting jailed for exposing ICAC probe

Former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting was on Wednesday jailed for four months for revealing that a senior police officer was being probed by the ICAC over the force’s handling of the 2019 Yuen Long attacks.

The Eastern Magistrate’s Court heard that Lam had exposed an investigation into Yau Nai-keung, the then-assistant commander of the district, who led an operation after armed, white-clad men beat up passengers and passersby in and around the Yuen Long MTR Station on July 21, 2019.

Magistrate Jacky Ip ruled that the disclosure could have affected the graftbuster’s work.

Ip also agreed with the prosecution that there was no need for Lam to reveal the probe, as the former lawmaker had already held three press conferences to express his dissatisfaction towards the police in relation to the Yuen Long attacks.

Lam was found guilty of three counts of disclosing the identity of persons being investigated.

The ex-lawmaker, who is in remand for a separate national security case, has filed an appeal.