Two men appeared in court on Monday over rioting charges related to a mob attack at Yuen Long MTR station last month. Both were denied bail by the magistrate.
48-year-old Lam Koon-leung and 43-year-old Lam Kai-ming both worked as car salesmen, the court heard. They were jointly charged with rioting, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
They were the second batch of defendants to face trial over the attacks, with two other men – Wong Chi-wing and Wong Ying-kit – brought to court last Friday.
Police have arrested 30 so far in relation to the attacks on July 21, which involved men dressed in white attacking train passengers and passersby indiscriminately with sticks.
Principal Magistrate Don So said the case on Monday was “very serious” and constituted an “organised and premeditated” crime. So said that there was a flight risk with both men, and denied their bail applications.
According to RTHK, prosecutors told the court that Lam Koon-leung was recorded swinging a wooden stick and attacking passersby for around 20 seconds. CCTV footage and video evidence provided by a victim showed Lam pulling down his face mask to his chin, and he was identified by five witnesses.
Lam Kai-ming was seen intimidating others and throwing objects at the turnstiles of Yuen Long MTR station, prosecutors added. Lam was recognised by three witnesses.
The two men, along with the two defendants surnamed Wong, will return to court on October 25.
Last Friday, Wong Chi-wing and Wong Ying-kit were granted bail of HK$30,000 each. The two men were ordered to observe a daily curfew from 10pm to 6am, and not to set foot within 50 metres of Yuen Long MTR station.
They also had to surrender all travel documents and were ordered not to leave Hong Kong, and to report regularly to the Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai police stations.
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