24-year-old man charged with assaulting Hong Kong police on Tiananmen crackdown anniversary denied bail
Hong Kong Free Press
A 24-year-old man said to have an intellectual disability has been denied bail after he was charged with three counts of assaulting Hong Kong police.
Fok Shun-yin, who is reported to be unemployed, faces three counts of assaulting police officers – on June 4, the 35th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, and outside the High Court on September 24.
Fok was detained at Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre awaiting psychiatric reports, local media outlets reported. On Thursday morning his case was mentioned at Eastern Magistrates’ Courts.
According to InMedia, the prosecution cited the psychiatric reports and said the defendant was fit to testify and opposed his request for bail. The defence said Fok suffers from a mild intellectual disability.
Principal Magistrate Don So rejected the application for bail, adding that the case would be heard again on December 4. The defence has a right to review the bail application every eight days.
Fok is accused of attacking Choi Hon-lun, a police officer, outside the High Court on September 24. According to media reports, he and his aunt went to court regularly to hear trials involving pro-democracy activists and politicians.
Fok is also charged with assaulting police officers Fan Hung-wai and Tse Ka-hang on June 4 at the junction of East Point Road and Great George Street near Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.
Hong Kong used to be one of the few places on Chinese soil where annual vigils were held to commemorate the victims of the crackdown.
Police banned the gathering in Victoria Park for the first time in 2020 citing Covid-19 restrictions, and imposed the same ban subsequently. There was a large police deployment on the 35th anniversary, with four people arrested.
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