Hong Kong district councillor remanded in custody after underage sex conviction

A Hong Kong court has remanded a district councillor in custody pending sentence after convicting him of unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl 15 years ago, rejecting his claim that the allegation was politically motivated.

Yuen Long District Council member Sei Chun-hing, 39, is set to become the first elected officer to face imprisonment for a criminal offence since a Beijing-led electoral overhaul in 2021, which ensured only those endorsed by authorities as “patriotic” can assume public office.

The District Court on Monday accepted the complainant’s testimony that Sei had committed sexual acts on her on March 14, 2011, telling her he expected the then secondary school pupil to reciprocate a month after he gave her a handcrafted Valentine’s Day gift.

Sei, a personal assistant to former cultural and sports lawmaker Ma Fung-kwok, was convicted of unlawful sex with a girl under 16, an offence punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.