'Spiderman' protester jailed for intimidating female friend

A British man known for sporting outlandish costumes to support democracy in Hong Kong has been sentenced to 42 weeks in jail for intimidating a woman he claimed was his girlfriend, officials and media reports said today.

Matt James Pearce, a 30-year-old English teacher and activist, was accused of threatening to damage the reputation of his friend Jennifer Anne Hollier by repeatedly staging protests outside the school where she worked, the Ming Pao Daily reported.

The report said Pearce, of Bristol, England, was seeking an apology from Hollier for rejecting his advances when, dressed in Superman, Santa Claus and The Incredibles costumes, he demonstrated 12 times outside her school and sent threatening letters to Hollier and her employer.

He was found guilty of two charges of criminal intimidation and 12 charges of loitering causing concern, and was sentenced Friday to a total of 42 weeks in prison, court documents showed.

Eastern Court magistrate William Lam described Pearce’s actions as calculated and close to blackmail, saying the case left “a nasty taste in the mouth”, Ming Pao said.

Pearce defended his behaviour by saying he was merely seeking “justice” and accused Hollier of being unfaithful and having multiple affairs.

He was recently convicted of causing a public nuisance for bringing traffic to a standstill by dressing up as Spiderman and scaling a giant TV screen in Hong Kong’s financial district in protest at the 1989 crackdown around Beijing’s Tiananmen square.

He had also been convicted of disorderly conduct for dressing up as a horse and running down a racetrack to demonstrate for democracy, but a court later overturned that conviction.