In handing down the sentence yesterday, deputy judge Peter Hui Shiu-keung of the district court said that even if Ng did not post the messages, he cannot shirk responsibility as the owner and administrator of such a big group for allowing these messages that incite illegal behaviors to exist. Ng Man-ho, a 27-year-old computer technician, was convicted last month of seven counts of incitement charges after he made use of the 100,000-member Chinese-language channel that he runs and manages to post "seditious messages," which had been shut down since August 2020. Hui said the time period and nature of some offences “overlapped” and thus their prison terms could be served concurrently. The judge ordered Ng to be jailed for a total of six years and six months. The court said the defendant had also incited people to commit public nuisance, with messages calling on them to take part in rallies and demonstrations including at Hong Kong International Airport, to block roads and to paralyse the public transportation system. Various forms of protest promoted on the messaging platform included general strikes, lunchtime protests and silent sit-ins. The imprisonment came as Telegram said it was "surprised" by claims that privacy commissioner Ada Chung Lai-ling is seeking to block the messaging app due to doxxing content targeting police and politicians.
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