8 jailed for up to 45 months for rioting near PolyU during Hong Kong protests in 2019
Hong Kong Free Press
A Hong Kong court has sentenced eight people for up to 45 months over a riot that took place as intense clashes broke out at a university campus in a nearby district during the 2019 protests and unrest.
The eight defendants, aged 22 to 30, appeared before judge Stanley Chan at District Court on Thursday morning. They had earlier pleaded guilty to rioting in Yau Ma Tei on November 18, 2019.
Handing down the sentences, Chan said the defendants – along with others – had thrown 251 petrol bombs and other objects along Nathan Road. He added that people who were “naive” and “full of passionate enthusiasm” took to the streets in the second half of 2019, responding to online calls and causing Hong Kong to become “politically charged,” The Witness reported.
The Yau Ma Tei riot took place as protesters occupied Hong Kong Polytechnic University in nearby Hung Hom during a days-long siege. The incident saw almost 1,400 people arrested on campus and in neighbouring districts.
‘Instigators of violence’
According to Chan, the government had informed the public about the seriousness of the illegal occupation at the university, yet “political profiteers and instigators of violence” encouraged people to take part in the riot.
Tang Tsun-kit was handed the heaviest sentence of 45 months. The judge said the 28-year-old electrician was the latest of the defendants to plead guilty, and while there was no evidence he had taken part in violent acts, he was in possession of items including laser pens and torches.
Chow Fung-yin, 30, and Cheung Tsz-ching, 23, were both sentenced to 38 months in jail. According to Chan, Chou – who has a teaching qualification – should be teaching students independent thinking and not to be incited by others, yet she personally “went to a battlefield to support rioters.” Meanwhile, Chan said Cheung was found to have a pair of pliers and a lighter, suggesting she came prepared.
The youngest defendant, Reaf Yeun, was sentenced to three years in jail. The judge said if the 22-year-old student had pleaded guilty at an earlier stage, the court could have considered rehabilitation as an alternative to imprisonment, but that it could now only hand down jail time to reflect the seriousness of the crime.
Chester Wan was sentenced to 32 months in jail, while Wu Hoi-wai, Xu Peng-yi and Yip Wing-san were imprisoned for 36 months.
Six other defendants in the case pleaded not guilty.
Protests broke out across Hong Kong in the summer of 2019, a response to a controversial extradition bill that grew into a wider demonstration against the Hong Kong and Beijing governments. Around 10,250 people were arrested in connection with the unrest, many of them young people.
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