The Court of Appeal on Wednesday overturned a ruling by the Communications Authority that a satirical RTHK TV programme had breached broadcasting rules by insulting police officers and failing to ensure its content was accurate.

The Communications Authority had issued a warning to RTHK’s Headliner programme over an episode in 2020, which allegedly denigrated police by depicting an officer popping out of a rubbish bin, and for suggesting that the force was scrapping foot patrols amid the pandemic.

But a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal found that the authority, and a lower court, were wrong in ruling that Headliner -- which was taken off air four years ago -- was in breach of broadcast rules.

"I accept that the Police was mocked and lampooned as worthless and unprofessional in the opening and closing sequences of the segment, and that this must be insulting and denigrating to them," wrote the High Court's vice president, Susan Kwan, in the judgment.

"However, it is clear that when the opening and closing sequences are considered in the context of the entire segment, the mockery was directed towards the work of the Police in the fight against Covid-19."

She added the authority, and a judge who partially supported their findings, had failed to take into account this broader context, and had misapplied the relevant code in finding that the programme had denigrated the police purely on the basis of social status.

The Appeals Court also said the lower court had made a “fundamental error” by failing to address the broadcaster’s contention that the comments in the programme regarding the police patrols were a satirical expression about public concerns, rather than a statement of fact.

As such, the court ordered the relevant rulings to be quashed.

Separate appeals over the earlier rulings were lodged by the authority, the RTHK Programme Staff Union and the Journalists Association.

Responding to the verdict, the Office of the Communications Authority said it was studying the ruling with its legal advisers before deciding the next step.