A 27-year-old lady was sentenced to 2 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 3 years and fined HK$500 after she pleaded responsible to doxxing a pet vendor over a refund argument in May final 12 months.
Appearing at West Kowloon Court on Thursday, the defendant Chan Tung-ching pleaded responsible to 1 cost of revealing private knowledge with out the info topic’s consent.
The court docket heard that Chan bought three kittens from the sufferer in late 2022 and she or he subsequently requested a refund from the sufferer due to the well being problems with one of many kittens.
The two couldn’t agree on an quantity for the refund and a dispute arose between them. During May final 12 months, Chan then posted a message containing the private knowledge of the sufferer in an open dialogue group on a social media platform, alongside some unfavourable feedback and allegations towards the sufferer.
The private knowledge disclosed included the sufferer’s Chinese identify, picture, elements of her cell phone numbers and former space of residence.
Chan was arrested by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data on November 16 final 12 months and the Office initiated prosecution towards Chan on January 25 after in search of authorized recommendation from the Department of Justice.
Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data Ada Chung Lai-ling welcomed the court docket’s ruling and reminded the general public to resolve their disputes by lawful means.
“Doxxing is not an option as it would only escalate conflict. Moreover, doxxing is a serious offense and the offender is liable on conviction to immediate imprisonment, with the maximum penalty being a fine up to HK$1 million and imprisonment for five years,” Chung stated.
