Pro-democracy lawmaker Au Nok-hin has been sentenced to 140 hours of community service after being convicted of assault for using a loudspeaker near a police officer during a protest last July.
Superintendent Ko Chun-pong said in his testimony that Au repeatedly yelled at him through the microphone during a protest clash last July 8 and submitted a medical report to court stating that he suffered from acute hearing loss. Au also hit another officer’s shield with a microphone.
The democrat was convicted of assault on April 6. Prior to the sentencing, Au told the press the the law could not be grasped with common sense: “What options are left for Hong Kong people to achieve real rule of law? The judgement today is just the first one, there will be a second and third, or maybe another arrests to come… On a personal level the paranoia is beyond my tolerance.”
Magistrate Leung Ka-kie acknowledged the community service report which stated that Au was cooperative, responsible and remorseful for his actions. She therefore handed down a 140-hour community service order, which was within the range of the 81-160 hours recommended in the report.
Future plans
Before the conviction, Au previously wrote on Facebook his plan to pursue a PhD at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy: “I am not very confident that, in a couple of years, Hong Kong’s higher education institutes will employ someone with a distinctive political resume.”
“Things are even more unpredictable in the political circle,” he added. “It is key to build a system to handle the competition among various political factions in the pro-democracy camp. I think this is the most appropriate contribution to make before I temporarily leave Hong Kong.” Au was referring to the need for coordination ahead of the 2020 legislative race in September.
In 2018, Au was elected as a lawmaker for Hong Kong Island constituency in a by-election that followed the disqualifcation of pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow from the race. A court overturned the election officer’s decision to bar Chow from the election and subsequently rendered Au unduly elected. He then filed an appeal, but the application was rejected at the Court of Final Appeal.
