Hong Kong’s anti-graft watchdog charged a 57-year-old man on Friday over social media posts allegedly inciting others to cast invalid votes in the Legislative Council election in 2021.

Victor Chou Wing-tat will face three charges under the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance when he appears at West Kowloon Court on Tuesday, according to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Garment industry worker Chou, who is currently out on bail, is the third person to be charged since the government outlawed calls to boycott elections or cast invalid votes following Beijing’s drastic overhaul of the city’s electoral system last year.

He was charged with three counts of engaging in illegal conduct by inciting another person to cast invalid votes during the election period, or within the eight weeks leading up to the December 19 poll.

An ICAC spokesman said the alleged offences took place between November 2 and December 19. During that period, Chou allegedly displayed three posts on his social media page and shared them on other pages as well.

The agency did not reveal the specific messages involved, saying only that they “incited another person to deal with his or her ballot paper in any way that would render the ballot paper invalid”.

It also did not mention which platform the messages were posted on.

The commission had conducted investigations into online posts and referred Chou’s case to the Department of Justice, which advised the ICAC that he should be charged.

The ICAC has arrested 10 people for the same offence, which carries a punishment of up to three years in jail and a HK$200,000 fine.

In November last year, a magistrate also issued arrest warrants for former opposition lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung and fellow former politician Yau Man-chun – now based in Australia and Britain, respectively – for allegedly inciting others via social media to cast blank ballots or not vote in the Legco election.