Documentary journalist Bao Choy has won her appeal at Hong Kong’s top court over a conviction for accessing vehicle registration records.
Choy, who was working for public broadcaster RTHK as a freelancer, aimed to use the records to find out who was involved in a violent assault on protesters and train travellers at the Yuen Long station during the 2019 mass protests.
She was convicted in April 2021, on two counts of making false statements to obtain information and fined 6,000 Hong Kong dollars ($764).
The appeal to the Court of Final Appeal, which began on May 3, was her last chance to overturn the ruling.
In a written judgement on Monday, the Court of Final Appeal said a “substantial and grave injustice” was done to Choy by inferring that she knowingly made false statements when accessing the search application database for vehicle registration records.
The judgement said there was no reason for “bona fide journalism” to be excluded from the phrase.
Post from www.aljazeera.com