Hong Kong: A gay civil servant prevailed in his final appeal on Thursday to require the Hong Kong government to grant him and his husband spousal benefits and joint tax assessment, in yet another landmark ruling for the city’s LGBT community.
The Court of Final Appeal ruled in favour of Angus Leung Chun-kwong (39), a senior immigration officer who took the govt to court after being unequally treated by the city’s biggest paymaster and the taxman, reports the South China Morning Post. The ruling came days after a separate case in which the Court of First Instance sided with a gay activist and struck down or revised 7 criminal offences discriminatory against homosexual men.
Last year, the top court backed an expatriate lesbian in recognising her overseas marriage for the purpose of getting a spousal visa. In a summarised judgment, the top court, which reached the decision unanimously, said it accepted the government had a legitimate aim to protect the institution of marriage.
