A Telegram channel administrator was on Thursday jailed for six-and-a-half years after he was found guilty of conspiring to incite others to commit illegal acts during the social unrest in 2019 and 2020.

Ng Man-ho, a computer technician, was earlier convicted of seven counts of conspiring to commit arson, rioting, criminal damage and other crimes between October 2019 and June 2020.

In sentencing, Deputy District Judge Peter Hui said even though the defendant did not post any messages on the channel that had over 100,000 subscribers, he did not amend or remove posts that were problematic.

The police welcomed the sentence, saying it has a strong deterrent effect. The force stressed that while it respects freedom of expression, the right is not absolute.