Finance chief John Tsang comes out of his shell at 'egg-throwing' trial
'If I could have foreseen it, I would have caught it', finance chief testifies
Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah brought an unexpected light touch to a solemn court hearing when he took the stand at the trial of a man accused of throwing an egg at him.
Tsang was testifying at Eastern Court against a man accused of flinging an egg at him during a forum in Java Road, North Point, in December last year. Derek Chan Tak-cheung, 25, of the League of Social Democrats, pleaded not guilty to one count of common assault.
Defence lawyer Douglas Kwok King-hin said the finance chief could have foreseen the egg being thrown, citing humorous remarks Tsang made shortly after he was pelted. Chan had been standing about nine metres from Tsang when the egg was thrown.
"If I could have foreseen that, I would have caught it," countered Tsang.
The court viewed television footage taken on the day of the incident, in which Tsang jokes that a doctor had advised him not to eat too many eggs. "Luckily I'm not wearing a good suit today. I appear to have foreseen the incident," he says in the footage.
Asked in court why he wore a light green T-shirt and tracksuit that day, Tsang said he had been teaching fencing at his alma mater, La Salle College, before heading to the forum.