A Hong Kong court has jailed six men and one woman for up to one year, after they pleaded guilty to conspiring to join an unlawful assembly in August 2019 during the extradition bill protests.
Deputy District Judge Newman Wong on Tuesday handed down prison terms to defendants Tse Shun-shing, Mick Tong, Leung Kai-yin, Tang Chi-hong, Kan Tzi-chung, Chan Hing-lung and Tang Ho-ying, who faced charges linked to the unrest in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung on August 25, 2019.
According to case details unveiled in court, the police had issued a letter of no objection to a public procession and assembly in the Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung districts in the afternoon of August 25, 2019. But the procession later descended into violence, with protesters shining laser pointers at the police and hurling bricks and petrol bombs.
The seven people jailed on Tuesday were among a group intercepted by the police on three private vehicles parked near the Tsuen Wan Slaughterhouse. They were found with gear including hiking sticks, laser pointers, helmets and respirators, which were commonly used by the protesters.
The group had pleaded not guilty to their original charge of conspiring to riot, but admitted to the alternative charge of conspiring to take part in an unlawful assembly. Tong, Leung, Kan and Tang Chi-hong entered a guilty plea for their additional charges of possession of offensive weapons, which included more than 20 hiking poles, laser pointers and a box cutter.
Tong, Tang Chi-hong and Kan also admitted to possessing radio communication devices without a licence. They were sentenced to 12 months of imprisonment, the heaviest among the seven defendants.
Tse, who is serving seven years behind bars for a separate protest case, saw an addition of eight months to his existing jail term. Leung and Chan were handed a 10-month sentence, while Tang Ho-ying was jailed for nine months.
When meting the jail terms for the defendants aged between 26 to 37, the deputy judge said the court could be certain that the group had “meticulously planned” their participation in the protest based on the equipment found on the defendants.
The defendants had anticipated violent clashes on the day, and were prepared to provide protest equipment to other demonstrators, Wong said.
“This case is more serious compared to cases of a similar nature,” Wong remarked.
The judge rejected pleas for lenient sentences, saying the atmosphere in Hong Kong had “gradually eased” since the protests. It would be unfair to other protesters whose cases were heard earlier, he said, adding it would send the public a “wrong message” that the court condoned the defendants’ behaviour.
Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
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