Documentary journalist Bao Choy has won her appeal at Hong Kong’s top court over a conviction for accessing vehicle registration records.
Choy, who has working for public broadcaster RTHK as a freelancer, aimed to use the records to find out. This has involved in a violent assault on protesters and train travelers at the Yuen Long station during the 2019 mass protests.
She has 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. This 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” done to Choy by inferring.
She knowingly made false statements when accessing the search application database for vehicle registration records
Choy chose the former. Because it involved the use of a vehicle on a road.
She said the case was also important because of its implications for press freedom in Hong Kong. This fell to 148th in the world in Reporters Without Borders’s 2022 ranking.
Before Choy’s arrest, it was common practice for Hong Kong media to access public records. Such as vehicle, land and company registrations, for use in their reporting and none had ever been prosecuted.
The attack at Yuen Long took place amid heightened tensions over mass opposition to a bill put forward by then Chief Executive Carrie Lam that would have allowed people to extradited to mainland China.