Nine people will face sentencing over unlawful assembly near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2019, where intense clashes broke out amid the extradition-bill protests and unrest.
Wong Chun-yin, Ronald Cheng, Tang Long-yin, Lai Hang-kei, Ng Chun-fung, Vicky Chiu, Yip Pui-shan, Law Tsz-kwan and Catherine Wong appeared at District Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Tang, 19, and Ng, 23, pleaded guilty in September, a day before proceedings against them were due to begin. The remaining seven defendants went on trial before judge Colin Wong, during which six of them personally testified.
The case related to a protest near the Science Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui on November 18, 2019. The museum is near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the site of a days-long siege that saw almost 1,400 people arrested on campus and in neighbouring districts.
Handing down the verdict on Tuesday, Wong said he did not accept all of the testimonies that were delivered, The Witness reported. With the city five months into protests, the public should have been aware that there were demonstrations going on when they heard loud noises or saw people gathering on the streets, Wong said.
The defendants will face sentencing on January 22.
135 arrests
The nine defendants were among the 135 people arrested outside the Science Museum that day.
According to the case details, people began gathering outside the museum at around 7 am, many wearing helmets, masks and goggles. At around 8 am, some protesters armed with open umbrellas charged towards police.
On Tuesday, Wong summarised the testimonies heard during September’s trial, and explained why he did not accept them.
Regarding 24-year-old Law’s testimony that she was going for a run near the Science Museum before going to class when she was arrested, Wong questioned why she had a helmet, respirator and work gloves in her backpack.
Another defendant, 31-year-old Lai, had testified that he felt unwell the night before after finishing his shift at the Eastern Hospital, where he worked as a nurse. He stayed in a dormitory at the hospital and made his way back to his To Kwa Wan apartment the next morning, taking the MTR and then deciding to catch a bus in Tsim Sha Tsui where he was arrested.
Wong said on Tuesday that Lai knew about the siege at Polytechnic University, and could have got off the MTR at another station to take the bus home. He also said while he acknowledged that the face masks and goggles found in his bag could have been for work purposes, he did not see why he needed to carry them with him.
In addition to the unlawful assembly charge, Catherine Wong, 31, faced an additional charge of possessing offensive weapons as she was found with a laser pen when arrested.
Tang and Yip were granted bail, while the other defendants were placed on remand while they await sentencing next month.
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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