Two Next Magazine reporters prosecuted for disclosing actress's son birth details

Two reporters from Next Magazine have been prosecuted for allegedly acquired and published birth certificate details of the son of Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chin in 2019.

On Saturday, police said they had sent a summons to a 47-year-old man and two local companies for alleged conspiracy to disclose personal data obtained without consent under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.

The suspects will appear in Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts next Monday.

Police said the case arose to form a complaint from an organization in January.

Local media reported that the suspects – a 47-year-old editor and 40-year-old journalists – obtained the birth certificate, which included personal details of Cheung’s youngest son Marcus Cheung, by searching records under the Immigration Department.

They then published the details which included the boys’ Chinese and English names, date of birth, the name of the mother and her address in January, but the father’s name was left blank. The story was later taken down.

Cheung, an award-winning actress, gave birth to her third son in November 2018 but did not reveal the identity of the father. Between 2006 and 2011, she was married to local pop singer Nicholas Tse Ting-fung, with whom he gave birth to two sons.

Cheung, 40, then filed a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, which later passed the case to police for further investigation.
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