A Hong Kong street artist has been handed a suspended jail sentence for painting “Freedom” graffiti in Central and Sheung Wan districts in January.
Chan King-fai, 42, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of criminal damage at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Monday, while prosecutors dropped another eight counts of the offence against the artist.
Magistrate Kestrel Lam jailed the artist for three weeks, saying that Chan faced multiple charges and had reoffended shortly after a previous conviction in December 2023. However, Lam suspended the latest sentence for two years.
The artist was accused of painting graffiti that combined the Chinese characters for “Freedom” with dollar signs in 18 locations in Central and Sheung Wan on January 5 this year, according to an updated prosecution case.
In mitigation, Chan’s lawyer told the court that the artist had created mural paintings for clients including the government’s Home Affairs Department, the Ma On Shan Police Station, Hong Kong International Airport, and the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
The “Freedom” graffiti was a “promotion of his belief in financial freedom,” his lawyer said.
“He wants people to have enough economic freedom to achieve their own goals and aspirations,” the lawyer added.
Chan also penned a letter expressing repentance and a wish to help those affected by cleaning the graffiti himself, as well as promising not to reoffend, his lawyer told the court.
The artist also agreed to compensate four of those affected a total of HK$11,000 for cleaning and repair fees.
Magistrate Lam ordered the confiscation of the paint Chan used for his graffiti at the request of the prosecution but allowed the artist to retrieve some of his tools for creating artworks.
Chan remained on remand pending a separate case of criminal damage, in which he is accused of defacing shopfronts, traffic light control boxes, and traffic signs in Kwai Chung in 2023.
He is due to appear in court for that case on July 3.
Chan was previously arrested in February 2023 for tagging objects, including buildings, shops, fuse boxes, bridges, and private vehicles across the city between January and February that year.
In December 2023, Chan was sentenced to a one-year probation order after admitting to 20 counts of criminal damage.
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