Two women and one man have been charged with 12 counts of criminal damage over power boxes, lampposts and other public facilities vandalised on last year’s Tiananmen crackdown anniversary.
Yeong Yuen-shek, Ng Ka-sin and Chan Yuk-kiu, all aged 22, appeared at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court on Monday to face charges linked to property damaged in various areas in Hong Kong on June 4, 2022, when the city marked 33 years since Beijing’s military crackdown on a student-led movement in 1989.
Yeong, Ng and Chan were officially prosecuted more than a year after they were among four people arrested last June, after police found more than 200 instances of graffiti of the same design in Tsuen Wan, Mong Kok, Wong Tai Sin and other districts.
Citing sources, local media reported at the time of the arrests that the graffiti were related to the 1989 crackdown which ended months of demonstrations in China, and during which hundreds, if not thousands, were killed.
According to the charge sheet, the trio stands accused of damaging a total of five power boxes, two parking meters, two post boxes, four lampposts, two traffic light posts, three rubbish bins, and one speed limit camera on June 4, 2022. The alleged acts of vandalism took place in Shek Kip Mei, Apliu Street, Wong Chuk Street, Lai CHi Kok Road, Shanghai Street, Portland Street, Hamilton Street, Nathan Road and Fa Yuen Street.
On that day, police carried out a large security operation during the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown that resulted in multiple arrests, as individual Hongkongers attempted to stage mini acts of defiance around Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, historically the site of the city’s annual candlelight vigil.
Separately, Yeong was charged with damaging a rubbish bin, a lamppost and a traffic sign near Yuen Tun Circuit on June 4, 2022. Ng and Chan were also said to have vandalised the electric room door of Hsin Kuang Centre in Wong Tai Sin on June 3, 2022.
The case was adjourned to July 27. The three defendants were granted HK$1,000 cash bail and must not leave Hong Kong. They also have to report to the police once a week.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the enactment of the Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020, Hong Kong was one of the few places on Chinese soil where memorials to mourn the 1989 crackdown were allowed. The authorities banned the annual vigil for time in 2020 citing social distancing restrictions, and no mass gathering was held over the three years.
This article has been corrected – click to view.
Correction 29/08/2023: An earlier version of this article misspelled Yeong Yuen-shek. We regret the error.
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