Bao Choy to fight conviction over Yuen Long report

Former RTHK producer Bao Choy says she is appealing against her conviction in connection with a documentary on the 2019 Yuen Long gang attack, saying she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if she didn’t.

The freelance journalist was fined HK$6,000 last month after being found guilty of two counts of violating the Road Traffic Ordinance by making false declarations when searching for the owners of cars believed to be linked to the mob violence.

Writing on social media on Wednesday, the award-winning journalist said the decision to appeal was not taken lightly and she is prepared to take the matter all the way to the Court of Final Appeal if necessary.

“If I don’t pursue justice now, I know I will regret it for the rest of my life and I won’t be able to sleep at night,” she wrote, adding that she had thought of letting the matter go.

“As a media worker, reporting facts and speaking the truth have always been my mission. As my city is falling apart, I expect myself to live in reality, with sincerity, honesty and integrity.”

Choy’s research was for RTHK’s Hong Kong Connection programme. The day before she was convicted she won this year’s Kam Yiu-yu Press Freedom Award for the documentary titled “7.21 Who Owns the Truth”.

The documentary – which was still available online as of Wednesday despite the government broadcaster’s purge of older programmes – shed more light on how police failed to prevent or respond to the Yuen Long rampage which left dozens in hospital.