Wong’s Office defends Civil Protection Law, again

Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak

The Office of the Secretary for Security has, again, clarified the definition for the crime described in the controversial Article 25 of the Civil Protection Basic Law, which establishes the provision for “spreading of false rumors and tendentious news in times of crisis.”

In a statement published on Friday, the office reiterated that both the production and the intentional dissemination of rumors during catastrophes are two different crimes.

According to paragraph 3 in the revised version of Article 25, the new draft establishes a different punishments for the act of spreading rumors in bad faith and those who “produce rumors aiming concretely [to cause social panic] as a result.”

The penalty proposed for the first act is slightly reduced compared to the latter.

According to the office, those who produce false news intentionally to cause confusion and anyone who intentionally disseminates false news that will cause panic should be punished according to the “crime against safety, order and public peace during sudden incidents of a public nature.”

“If the draft law fails to punish the act of intentional dissemination, it will effectively create an obvious legal loophole by allowing such behavior to be immune from criminal-law censorship,” the office stated.

During the drafting of the article, security authorities believed that a lesser degree of malice and perversity was involved in the dissemination of rumors in bad faith when compared to individuals who produced targeted rumors to cause public panic, so the distinction must be made in the punishment.

Meanwhile, the office reiterated that the new draft has changed the definition of a crime against order and public safety from spreading “fake news” pertaining to “threats, risks, and vulnerabilities concerning sudden public incidents,” to the spreading of “fake information” concerning sudden public incidents.

Thus, punishments are targeted at people who either intend to disseminate rumors or spread false information with the intent of causing social panic.

Meanwhile, the new draft suggests reducing imprisonment from two years to 16 months for disseminating rumors.

The maximum sentence for offenders who cause social panic is still two years, but it will be possible to lower the criminal responsibility of an offender based on certain situations.

Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak previously pledged that authorities would strive to leave no grey areas in the proposed Civil Protection Law that could lead to interpretations that limit freedom of expression.

Although he had admitted that the bill still has room for improvement before it enters the final phase of the legislation, Wong said that his office is trying its best to clarify any unclear aspects of the bill.  LV