A Hong Kong court has jailed a retiree for eight months for posting speeches on his social media account in which he seditiously criticised authorities and called on voters to boycott last year’s Legislative Council election.

Lam Ming-chung, 68, on Friday admitted to posting seditious content on his Facebook account between September 2024 and November last year, in violation of the domestic national security law.

According to the prosecution, the defendant spread hatred against authorities in 130 posts in which he criticised the police, the judiciary and the Hong Kong government in general.

He also declared on his Facebook account that he would not vote in the Legco election last December and called for a boycott ahead of the poll.

He said candidates involved in politics were essentially sending themselves to the “guillotine”.

Defence counsel Jonathan Man Ho-ching told the court that these redundant criticisms on his personal social media account, with only about 10 friends connected, were an emotional outlet for Lam.

“I hope the court can understand the defendant as a stubborn elderly person who vented irrationally,” he said. “Of course, his venting crossed the line.”