Hong Kong court refuses bail to man jailed for 7 years over 2019 Yuen Long attacks pending appeal
Hong Kong Free Press
A Hong Kong court has refused to grant bail to a man who is seeking to appeal his conviction and seven-year jail term for rioting and wounding in connection with the Yuen Long mob attacks during the 2019 extradition bill protests and unrest.
Tang Wai-sum appeared before Justice of Appeal Anthea Pang on Friday to apply for bail while waiting for his appeal to be heard next March, local media reported. After hearing submissions from Tang’s lawyer and the representative of the Department of Justice, the appeal judge rejected his application and ordered him to continue to serve time behind bars.
According to the Judiciary’s website, the Court of Appeal will hear Tang’s bid to seek leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence on March 7, 2024.
Tang was among seven men jailed by District Judge Eddie Yip in July 2021 over a series of charges, including rioting, wounding with intent and conspiracy to wound with intent. Tang received the heaviest penalty of seven years, the maximum prison term that could be meted out by the District Court.
On July 21, 2019, more than 100 rod-wielding men – some with alleged connections to triad members – stormed the Yuen Long MTR station and attacked civilians, commuters, protesters, journalists and then-Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting. Several other beatings took place in the area, as white-clad men with sticks chased after people.
In his reasons for sentence, Yip said some of the defendants attacked MTR passengers indiscriminately, as if they had “lost their minds.” The assailants trapped commuters inside the train carriage, which the judge said amounted to “false imprisonment” and imposing “extrajudicial punishment” on the victims.
Tang was said to have played a “directing role” and witnessed how other people wearing white shirts “persistently attacked” victims, even after some fell onto the ground.
Tang’s wife announced in August 2021 that her husband would challenge the conviction and appeal. A prominent pro-establishment YouTube commentator assisting Tang’s wife accused Yip of being politically biased and claimed – without providing proof – that the judge had been bribed.
The Yuen Long attacks were one of the most controversial incidents during months of sometimes violent protests against an extradition bill. Police were accused of colluding with the attackers, but insisted they were too stretched to respond swiftly on the night.
| 💡Under court reporting restrictions on bail proceedings, written and broadcast reports are limited to only include the result of a bail application, the name of the person applying for bail and their representation, and the offence concerned. |
Then-chief executive Carrie Lam initially described the incident as “shocking,” while then-chief secretary Matthew Cheung condemned the perpetrators as “thugs.” But the government’s narrative changed over a year, as the police characterised the event as a “gang fight” between white-clad men and others dressed in black.
The Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) included the Yuen Long attacks as a case study in its 999-page report on police behaviour published in May 2020. The police watchdog cleared the Force of misconduct despite receiving more than 1,700 complaints relating to the protests, but said but there were “areas for improvement.”
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