HONG KONG -  Hong Kong’s privacy protection agency on Wednesday dismissed an appeal lodged by phone-snatching lawmaker, saying that it is proper for the government to keep track of the whereabouts of legislators in the Council’s premises.

Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung earlier filed a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, claiming his privacy was invaded by a government officer who recorded the time he left the Legislative Council Building in April 2018. 

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After that complaint was dismissed, he appealed to the office’s Administrative Appeals Board in September last year.

Rejecting Hui’s appeal, the appeal board said in a statement that it was lawful and fair for the government to record the whereabouts of lawmakers inside the Legislative Council complex

Rejecting Hui’s appeal, the appeal board said in a statement that it was lawful and fair for the government to record the whereabouts of lawmakers inside the Legislative Council complex. 

The purpose to collect such information is in the public interest and in compliance with the intention of the Data Protection Principle, said the appeal board.

The appeal board noted that legislators should reasonably expect that their actions in public areas of the Legislative Council building are recorded.

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During a Legislative Council meeting held in April 2018, Hui snatched a female Security Bureau officer’s cellphone, accusing the officer for violating the privacy ordinance by collecting lawmakers’ personal information. Hui then went into the men’s room to check the phone's content and remained there for about 15 minutes.

Hui was convicted of three offenses on May 27, 2019, including common assault, dishonest access to a computer and obstructing a public officer. He was ordered to perform 240 hours of community service and fined HK$3,800 by the Eastern Court.