{
  "id": 13078334,
  "title": "Gov’t loses appeal against acquittal of former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting over 2019 protest charge",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/govt-loses-appeal-against-acquittal-of-former-lawmaker-lam-cheuk-ting",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T09:25:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hong Kong Free Press",
    "slug": "hong-kong-free-press",
    "url": "https://hongkongfp.com/2026/10/09/govt-loses-appeal-against-acquittal-of-former-lawmaker-lam-cheuk-ting-over-2019-protest-charge/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The government has lost its appeal against a decision to acquit former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting of perverting the course of justice charges connected to the 2019 Hong Kong protests. Lam, who once belonged to the Democratic Party, was charged alongside two co-defendants in relation to an incident at Tuen Mun Park on July 6, 2019. The prosecution alleged that the trio pressured a man, referred to as X in court documents, to delete photos on his phone, believing them to be close-ups of protesters captured during a protest outside the police headquarters in Wan Chai on July 1, 2019. All three defendants were initially found not guilty by a District Court judge in January 2023, who deemed Lam to be attempting to protect X from harm. The three-judge Court of Appeal panel on Friday upheld the previous ruling, stating that without concrete evidence confirming the existence of the disputed photos, it was impossible to determine whether Lam's actions indeed obstructed the police investigation. Lam is currently incarcerated in connection with the Hong Kong 47 national security case, having been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison in May 2024.",
  "summary": "Hong Kong’s Department of Justice (DoJ) has lost its appeal against a lower court’s decision to acquit former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting of a perverting the course of justice charge linked to the 2019 protests and unrest. A panel of three Court of Appeal judges delivered the judgment on Friday, upholding a previous ruling that found […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting acquitted of perverting the course of justice charges.",
    "Court of Appeal upholds District Court's January 2023 not guilty ruling.",
    "Lam currently serving six years and nine months in Hong Kong 47 national security case."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hong Kong Free Press",
        "title": "Gov’t loses appeal against acquittal of former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting over 2019 protest charge",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/govt-loses-appeal-against-acquittal-of-former-lawmaker-lam-cheuk-ting-13081908",
        "published": "2026-10-09T09:25:28.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}