Hong Kong woman given suspended jail term for reposting calls to boycott legislative polls

A Hong Kong woman was given a suspended jail sentence for sharing online posts calling for a boycott of December’s “patriots only” legislative elections.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Bonney Ma, 61, was sentenced on Wednesday to two months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after she pleaded guilty to one count of inciting others not to vote in the run-up to the legislative race on December 7, according to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

The housewife was among three people prosecuted by the anti-graft watchdog in November after they shared social media posts by two overseas activists – Alan Keung and Tong Wai-hung – who called for a boycott of what they described as a “fake election.”

Keung and Tong are wanted by the ICAC for inciting others not to vote, while Keung also has a HK$200,000 bounty on his head for a separate national security allegation.

During the hearing last week, Magistrate Peter Yu said the case was serious because it concerned the elections, adding that any illegal acts relating to the polls would negatively affect Hong Kong.

While Ma may have shared the post after only a brief glance, the court must take into consideration that the public could be exposed to its message, Yu said.

Ninety legislators were sworn in for the eighth term of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council on January 1, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

He set a starting sentence of three months behind bars and gave a one-third reduction for her guilty plea. The sentence was suspended for one and a half years.

Ma shared Tong’s call for a boycott on her Facebook account on October 24 last year, and the post remained publicly visible until her arrest on November 14, according to the prosecution.

The other two defendants facing the same charge – Wong Kin-kwok, 55, and Lam Kin-sik, 66 – are scheduled to appear in court in May.

The December legislative race was the second since Beijing overhauled Hong Kong’s electoral system to ensure only those deemed patriots could run for office.

The move reduced democratic representation in the legislature, tightened control of elections and introduced a pro-Beijing vetting panel to select candidates.