A lawmaker facing assault charges argued with Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying in court on Thursday over his choice of words in a witness statement. Legislator Wong yuk-man also repeatedly accused Leung of lying.
Wong has been charged with common assault after allegedly throwing a glass at Leung in the Legislative Council chamber in July 2014. He has denied the charges and is representing himself.
At the Eastern Magistrates’ Court, Wong and Leung argued over the terminology used to describe the act of throwing. Wong said Leung deliberately chose a word that made it seem like a strong amount of force was used in order to support his accusation of common assault.
Wong accused Leung of lying and said that someone had, in fact, instructed him regarding which word to use. Leung, however, disagreed and said that if a mild amount of force was used, the glass would not have shattered, RTHK reported.
Wong then questioned whether someone had written the statement for Leung beforehand. Leung said he did not want to keep answering the same question again, Now TV reported.
Wong said Leung had lost control of his emotions and told the magistrate to ask Leung to excuse himself, a request the magistrate granted.
When asked by Wong why he did not report others who threw paper stars at him, Leung said that the paper stars were hollow whilst glass shards could cause injury.
Wong also questioned other expressions Leung used in his witness statement. In his statement, Leung said, “I was, in actual fact, worried that the glass shards would hit me and hurt me,” causing Wong to ask why Leung said “in actual fact”, stating that people usually only use such emphasis when they are lying. However, Leung said he was reflecting the intensity of the act.
