Student jailed for laundering funds to aid protesters

A 22-year-old Chinese University student was jailed yesterday for laundering almost HK$600,000 from a fundraising platform used to help protesters arrested during anti-government unrest in 2019.

Deputy District Judge Ko Waihung sentenced Yu Yan-yuk to 16 months behind bars for handling funds as a volunteer for Spark Alliance HK, a platform originally set up after the 2016 Mong Kok riot, to help arrested or jailed activists.

Ko said Yu had made 23 deposits and more than 90 withdrawals from his bank account over a six-month period between June and December 2019, during the anti-government protests, and handled about HK$585,000 related to Spark Alliance.

“The laundering period and the amount involved is relatively small and short compared with similar cases, and there are no elements of cross-border money laundering,” Ko said.

There was no evidence to show the laundered cash was related to criminal activity, or that Yu handled the money despite knowing it was related to criminal offences – but these were not mitigating factors, the judge said.

“The defendant was not simply lending his account to others – he was the sole operator of the account,” Ko said.

Ko said he did not believe Yu’s claim that the funds were donations to Spark Alliance HK to be used for the provision of humanitarian aid, as the organisation had a bank account and would not use volunteers’ accounts.

Yu, then 17 years old, was among four people arrested in December 2019 in connection with an investigation into the nonprofit group. He pleaded not guilty to money laundering, but was convicted at the District Court last month.

Fiona Nam Hoi-yan, for the defence, said in mitigation that Yu believed the money was from legal sources and asked the court to consider sentencing him to time in a detention centre because he had committed the crime at a young age.

A detention centre is an alternative to prison for male offenders only aged 14 to 24. Emphasis is placed on physical labour and discipline to deter young offenders from breaking the law again.

For offenders aged 21 to 24, the period of detention is from three months to 12 months, with a year of supervision after release and restrictions such as curfews.

“The defendant’s parents and girlfriend have described him as simple, helpful and passionate,” Nam said. She pointed out the defendant’s age at the time and that he had learned lessons from the experience.

“He has reflected deeply on his actions and said he would not make this choice again if he could turn back time. The defendant also said he was sorry for worrying his loved ones and understood the severity of his crime as he missed his grandmother’s funeral while on remand,” Nam said.

But Ko rejected the detention centre option and ruled the nature of the charge and seriousness of the circumstances were severe.

He reduced his starting point for sentencing from 18 months to 16 months because Yu had obtained exceptional results when he retook his university entrance examinations and was admitted to Chinese University despite being under great pressure since his arrest in 2019.

The defendant was not simply lending his account to others – he was the sole operator

DEPUTY DISTRICT JUDGE KO WAI-HUNG