Leung Kai-lok, 19, is potentially the first person to avoid a custodial sentence for violating the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenBrian WongPublished: 2:45pm, 12 Aug 2026A Hong Kong student has been spared jail for seditious acts in breach of the domestic national security law, after a court ruled that his good background, young age and the limited impact of his offences constituted “exceptional circumstances”.Leung Kai-lok, 19, is potentially the first person to avoid a custodial sentence for violating the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, although he was incarcerated for four weeks before sentencing.West Kowloon Court on Wednesday gave the defendant 1½ years of probation after finding him guilty of inciting hatred towards authorities by scrawling anti-government messages in a commercial building toilet last year.
The order requires Leung, who is now pursuing a higher diploma in digital media at a vocational school, to attend psychiatric and psychological counselling and take part in community activities and courses at his probation officer’s instructions.
The court also ordered the student to pay HK$1,500 (US$190) in cleaning expenses to the China Hong Kong City commercial complex in Tsim Sha Tsui.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal damage for writing graffiti inside a men’s toilet at the complex, where he worked as a part-time clerk for the city’s Vanuatu consulate, between July 17 and 21, 2025.
