Lester Shum Ngo-fai
Political Prisoner
Lester Shum Ngo-fai 岑敖暉
Age at Arrest: 28
Former deputy secretary-general, Hong Kong Federation of Students
*Currently in jail.
Lester Shum Ngo-fai was born in New York in the United States, and moved to Hong Kong in the mid-1990s. Shum studied Government and Public Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He was the vice president of the Student Union at CUHK from 2013 to 2014, and after that he served as deputy secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students between 2014 and 2015. Shum was also one of the leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement.
Shum’s political career started when he became an assistant to former lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick in 2016. He was later elected to represent the Hoi Bun constituency in the Tsuen Wan District in 2019.
Shum was disqualified from the Hong Kong Legislative Council election in July 2020 after taking part in the unofficial pro-democracy primaries, for which he was arrested over in January 2021.
Alongside activist Joshua Wong and former district councillors Jannelle Rosalynne Leung and Tiffany Yuen, Shum was also charged with taking part in an unauthorised assembly for a June 4th candlelight vigil in Causeway Bay in 2019. He was sentenced to six months in prison on 6 May 2021. (Photo: HKFP)
Charges, incidents & sentences:
Charge: Conspiracy to commit subversion under the National Security Law
Incident: Organising and participating in unofficial primary elections for the Hong Kong Legislative Council in July 2020
Charge: Participating in an unauthorised assembly
Incident: June 4th candlelight vigil on 4 June 2020
Sentencing: Six months’ imprisonment (HKFP)
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