Telegram group admin jailed for conspiring to incite

A Telegram channel administrator has on Thursday been jailed for six and a half years, after he was found guilty of conspiring to incite others to commit illegal acts during the 2019 and 2020 social unrest.

Ng Man-ho, a computer technician, was earlier convicted of seven counts of conspiring to commit arson, rioting, criminal damage and other crimes between October 2019 and June 2020.

In sentencing, Deputy District Judge Peter Hui said even though the defendant did not post any messages on the channel that had over 100-thousand subscribers, he did not amend or remove posts that were problematic.

The police, meanwhile, welcomed the sentence, saying it has a strong deterrent effect. The force stressed that while it respects freedom of expression, the right is not absolute.