Hong Kong's Eastern Magistrates' Court today (10 November) sentenced Wong King Hoi to two weeks of imprisonment after his conviction of the offence of obstructing employees of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in the execution of a search warrant following a prosecution brought by the SFC.
Wong was ordered to pay the SFC's investigation costs.
This is the first case that a person is convicted for obstructing the SFC's employees in performance of their functions empowered under the SFO, the SFC said.
Christopher Wilson, the SFC's executive director of enforcement, said: "We welcome the court's decision. Today's sentence sends a strong and clear message that the obstruction is a significant impairment to the SFC's lawful duty. It is a serious offence if a person who wilfully obstructs the SFC officers to perform their duties and the SFC is determined to take legal actions against those offenders".
The Eastern Magistrates' Court last week convicted Wong King Hoi after he pleaded guilty to a charge of obstructing employees of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in the execution of a search warrant.
The Court was told that, in October 2021, the SFC obtained a search warrant to search for, seize and remove from Wong's residence records and documents relating to the SFC's investigation into suspected market manipulation of the shares of a Hong Kong-listed company.
When the SFC executed the search warrant at Wong's residence, Wong allegedly delayed in giving the SFC search team access to his residence and attempted to dispose of four objects including two mobile phones and two notebooks.
