News - South China Morning Post
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Fiona Chow
A government statistician in Hong Kong was acquitted of following a 16-year-old girl to her school and loitering outside her classroom after telling police he wanted to know her because she resembled an old friend. Magistrate Kestrel Lam said the charge of loitering did not address the defendant's actions, which raised calls for anti-stalking legislation from lawmakers and experts. The government had previously proposed such legislation in 1994, but shelved it in 2014. Critics say Hong Kong's laws are insufficient to prosecute repeated harassment or cyberstalking, with only a patchwork of different laws available.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In Hong Kong, lawmakers are calling for an anti-stalking law after a man was acquitted of following a teenage girl to her secondary school classroom. Magistrate Kestrel Lam Tsz-hong found the defendant not guilty on August 25, stating that the charge of loitering did not adequately address his actions. The government statistician, who is 57 years old, had allegedly followed the 16-year-old girl to her classroom in July last year. This case highlights a loophole in Hong Kong's laws, which make it difficult to prosecute repeated harassment. Currently, Hong Kong relies on a patchwork of different laws to address stalking and harassment cases. Experts are urging the government to revisit a proposal for dedicated anti-stalking legislation that was first raised 26 years ago but ultimately shelved in 2014**. Without such a law, victims of stalking may not receive adequate protection under existing laws.
Written for “Hong Kong Anti-Stalking Law” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but every quote it verified points left, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 5487: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-06
Calls for Hong Kong anti-stalking law after man acquitted of following teen girl
Magistrate said charge of loitering did not address defendant’s actions, and lawmakers urge government to revisit proposal for dedicated legislation shelved in 2014
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lawmakers → acquit → 2014
Lawmakers and a government adviser have called for anti-stalking legislation to close a loophole that makes prosecuting repeated harassment difficult in Hong Kong, following the acquittal of a man who followed a teenage girl to her secondary school classroom.
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who → call → classroom
Some experts said the government should revisit a proposal for such legislation raised 26 years ago, after the magistrate who acquitted the defendant of a loitering charge also noted the absence of laws to criminalise stalking under certain circumstances.
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who → say → circumstances
Unlike many jurisdictions with dedicated legislation to protect victims, Hong Kong can only prosecute suspects under a patchwork of different laws, with even the statutes on doxxing viewed as insufficient to punish cyberstalking.
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statutes → protect → cyberstalking
The 57-year-old government statistician was found not guilty on August 25 of following the 16-year-old girl to her school and loitering outside the classroom in July last year.
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statistician → find → July
The man also allegedly followed her during her commute to school for two to three years.
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man → follow → years
He told police the girl resembled an old friend and he wanted to know her.
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he → tell → her
Eastern Court Magistrate Kestrel Lam Tsz-hong said that loitering causing concern was inappropriate for addressing the defendant’s actions, which could not be handled under existing criminal laws.
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which → say → laws
