"I am of the view that less favourable treatment was given to the appellant compared with female prisoners. There has been discrimination on the basis of sex," Court of Final Appeal Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma said, as quoted by the media outlet.
According to the ruling, the Correctional Services Department has failed to provide consistent arguments or explanations on why hair length is tied closely to custodial discipline.
"It is not readily apparent, and no explanation was provided by the [commissioner of correctional services], as to why this had any reasonable connection with custodial discipline," Ma said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post.
According to Hong Kong Free Press, this decision means that former Hong Kong pro-democracy legislator Leung Kwok-hung, better known as "Long Hair," has won a six-year legal battle against the Correctional Services Department, after was forced to cut his long hair while behind bars in 2014.
Leung was jailed for several weeks for criminal damage and disorderly behaviour in June 2014.