A 19-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday evening for allegedly participating in a riot during protests that erupted in Mong Kok last February.
The activist allegedly threw bricks and damaged road signs on the night in question, Headline Daily reported. Police searched his residence in Tai Po and seized items such as a computer and clothes as evidence.
Under the Public Order Ordinance, the offence of rioting carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Including Tuesday’s arrest, 91 people – 80 males and 11 females – have been apprehended for alleged participation in the clashes. The charges include rioting, arson, unlawful assembly and assaulting police officers. Some of those arrested earlier have had their charges dropped.
The District Court convicted in the past month four people of rioting in connection with the protests. Three of them were each handed a jail term of three years behind bars, while another was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.
Localist leaders Edward Leung Tin-kei and Ray Wong Toi-yeung, as well as eight activists, will be tried in the High Court for alleged participation in the unrest on January 15, 2018. The pre-trial review takes place on August 7 this year.
The clashes broke out last year on the night of February 9 – Lunar New Year – over efforts by the authorities to clear street hawkers.
