Hong Kong court jails woman for 7 months over splashing red paint on planter

A Hong Kong court has jailed an unemployed woman for seven months over splashing red paint onto the roadside planter near the government headquarters.

Mak Kar-man, 46, told Principal Magistrate Don So Man-lung of Eastern Court on Friday that she only committed the offence November 19, 2024 because she was under stress due to job hunting.

Mak’s defence counsel said the defendant was in Admiralty that day for a job interview at the Indian consulate and did not damage the government property for any political reasons.

“She was in a bad mood that day … She knew that she would need to bear the legal consequences,” the lawyer said.

The defendant was earlier convicted of two counts of criminal damage after pleading guilty.

She earlier told the court that she lost her job during the Covid-19 pandemic and had been failing at job interviews. She was turned down once again on November 19.