Hong Kong social worker Jackie Chen found guilty of rioting during 2019 protest after retrial
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong social worker Jackie Chen has been found guilty of rioting during a protest in 2019, following a retrial that came after the government appealed against her 2020 acquittal.
Deputy District Judge May Chung announced the guilty verdict on Tuesday afternoon, seconds after taking her seat at the bench. She said she had written down her reasons for the verdict and would adjourn the hearing for 20 to 30 minutes to allow the defence and the prosecution to read them.
Chen’s supporters in the public gallery yelled: “We’ll come visit you” and “Hang in there,” as the social worker took off her earrings, rings, bracelet, and necklace and handed them to a relative through a gap in the defendant’s dock.
Chen looked up to the public gallery and said, “[I’m] OK! Don’t worry. Take care of yourselves!”
Security then escorted her out of the courtroom. Chen’s family members, seated in the first row of the public gallery, were seen comforting each other.
Chen, 48, had arrived at District Court at around 1.20pm, more than an hour before the hearing was set to begin. By then, dozens of her supporters were already in line waiting for public gallery tickets.
After getting their tickets, they went outside for a group photo with Chen. Some of the supporters hugged Chen as journalists surrounded them to take pictures.
Chen pleaded not guilty last December to one count of rioting in relation to a protest on August 31, 2019. That day, demonstrators set up roadblocks in Wan Chai and Admiralty, clashing with police officers who deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse them.
Chen, who was arrested near the intersection of Hennessy Road and Marsh Road at around 8.20pm on suspicion of taking part in an illegal assembly, did not testify in the trial or call witnesses. Representing Chen, barrister Hector Pun argued that the social worker was speaking through a loudspeaker to police and asking them to act with restraint.
Pun added that Chen did not throw petrol bombs or aim laser pens at officers like some other protesters at the scene, and there was no evidence to suggest that her words or actions obstructed or delayed police enforcement actions.
The prosecution, however, said Chen had encouraged the riot. The police officer who arrested Chen acted as a prosecution witness and said she was “slightly resistant” initially when arrested.
A member of the Battlefield Social Worker group, Chen was frequently seen on the frontlines of protests in 2019 when she volunteered to monitor police behaviour. She sought to liaise between protesters and the police force and provide emotional support during demonstrations, often speaking to officers through a loudspeaker and telling them not to deploy tear gas against reporters and residents without protective gear.
During the trial, the defence submitted five letters from character witnesses – people who can testify to the good character of a defendant – to present their case.
Three of the letters were written by colleagues, one was written by an ex-teacher, and another was written by a friend she did overseas volunteer work with.
Rioting is punishable by up to 10 years in jail, though sentences handed down at the District Court are capped at seven years.
Acquitted in September 2020
The 48-year-old was acquitted midway through her trial in September 2020, when the judge said her conduct and speech did not amount to taking part in an unlawful assembly, let alone a riot.
The seven defendants in the case, who like her pleaded not guilty, were also acquitted at the end of the trial. But the government appealed against all the acquittals, with the Court of Appeal allowing the challenge. Nevertheless, the government was forced to drop its challenge against some defendants because they had left Hong Kong.
Lai Pui-ki, Chung Ka-nang, and Jason Gung – who are still in the city – changed their pleas to guilty in September. They have been remanded since.
The three will be sentenced after Chen’s trial ends. Chen applied to the Court of Appeal to challenge the lower court’s decision to allow a retrial, but was rejected.
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.”
More to follow – refresh for updates.
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