A second man has been arrested over an incident in which notifications described by TVB News as “weird” were sent to the broadcaster’s mobile app, police said on Tuesday.
In early May, more than 20 push notifications were sent in both traditional and simplified Chinese characters, used in Hong Kong and mainland China respectively.
They included expressions such as “Challenging the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ is not allowed,” “Patriots rule Hong Kong” and “Pikachu meets the press.” Pikachu is a reference to Chief Executive John Lee, whose Chinese name Lee Ka-chiu sounds similar to the the Pokemon character.
Police said they arrested a 19-year-old man in Sau Mau Ping last Wednesday for accessing a computer with dishonest intent. He was released on bail but required to report to police later this month.
TVB News cited sources as saying the 19-year-old was a student and did not work for the broadcaster. He also had no apparent connection with the first suspect arrested in May – a 27-year-old man who was reportedly an employee of the outlet.
The Police Public Relations Branch said it “had nothing to add” when HKFP asked about details of the latest arrest.
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