A 19-year-old man has been sentenced to 180 hours of community service for turning his back to the pitch when the national anthem was played at a football match last year.

Lau Pun-hei was earlier found guilty at Eastern Magistrates' Courts of insulting the national anthem during a World Cup qualifier match between Hong Kong, China and Iran at Hong Kong Stadium in June 2024.

Magistrate Kestrel Lam said in sentencing on Wednesday that the defendant was a young and promising individual who had a good family background.

He said Lau's act was not the most serious kind of insult and believed it was not premeditated, adding the defendant showed remorse and was unlikely to commit the offence again.

The magistrate also said the sentence meted out was not lenient, and that 180 hours of community service would serve as a warning.