Elderly woman charged with displaying seditious publications outside flat, remanded at psychiatric centre

An elderly woman has been charged with displaying publications with a seditious intention outside her flat in Tin Shui Wai.

West Kowloon Law Courts Building. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Yang Chau-kei, 61, appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Monday for the first mention of her case.

She stands accused of putting up materials with a seditious intention outside her apartment in Tin Chung Court – including on her apartment door, on the living room window, and in the building corridor – between March and November 2024.

In doing so, Yang intended to stir up hatred against Hong Kong authorities and “the fundamental system of the state established by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China,” a charge sheet prepared by the prosecution stated.

According to local media, Yang chose to defend herself, refusing the services of a duty lawyer assigned to defendants who lack representation.

Wearing a black top and black face mask, she said multiple times in Cantonese: “I did not break the law, they framed me” – a phrase she repeated when asked by Chief Magistrate Victor So if she needed a lawyer.

Tin Chung Court in Tin Shui Wai. Photo: Wikicommons.

So expressed concerns about Yang’s mental state, and asked the prosecution whether she had a history of seeking psychiatric treatment. The prosecution said she had no such record.

When asked by So whether she knew she was in a courtroom, and if she had sought psychiatric help before, the defendant continued repeating, “I did not break the law, they framed me.”

So adjourned the case to September 21 to give time for the prosecution to order psychiatric reports to assess whether Yang is fit to submit a plea. She was remanded in Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre.

Yang faces up to seven years’ imprisonment under the local security law, if convicted.

Separate from the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of up to 16 days, and suspects’ access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city’s opposition-free legislature.

The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and “regressive.” Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to “close loopholes” after the 2019 protests and unrest.