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The judge said Ken Tsang must have known he would be arrested after pouring liquid on the officers. Photo: Dickson Lee

Activist Ken Tsang convicted of assaulting police during Occupy protests

Judge convinced beyond reasonable doubt that social worker poured liquid that smelled like urine on 11 officers, but acquitted Tsang of two out of four counts of resisting arrest

Pro-democracy activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu was convicted yesterday of assaulting police and resisting arrest during an Occupy protest 19 months ago.

While he was found guilty of one count of assault and two of ­resisting arrest, Kowloon City Court acquitted him on two other charges of resisting arrest . He will be sentenced on ­Monday.

“I am disappointed but I do respect the court,” Tsang said outside the building, flanked by dozens of supporters brandishing yellow umbrellas. He said his legal team would study the judgment “to see if an appeal is possible”.

Principal magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen said he was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that Tsang was the person who splashed an unknown liquid over 11 police officers and subsequently resisted arrest by two others in Admiralty on October 15, 2014.

He concluded that the act of splashing liquid amounted to an assault because there was no doubt about the hostility ­involved, and that Tsang must have known he would be arrested in the aftermath, yet resisted.

But Law accepted that Tsang’s resistance may in part have been due to a natural reaction towards being pepper sprayed, and hence acquitted him on two counts of ­resisting arrest.

Tsang, 40, who previously had no criminal record, could lose his social worker registration after yesterday’s conviction, his lawyer, Robert Pang Yiu-hung SC, said.

The case centred on one of the most controversial nights of the 79-day Occupy protests, when demonstrators clashed with ­police who were trying to clear the area outside government headquarters.

Ken Tsang (third from right) was arrested at Lung Wo Road in Admiralty during the Occupy Central protests. Photo: Nora Tam

The verdict came a week ­before the trial of seven police officers accused of assaulting Tsang that same night.

Defence counsel Pang said in mitigation that Tsang had “received more than enough punishment” from the alleged beating and kicking he received after his arrest that night.

“We cannot forget our ­society’s sentiment at the time,” he said as he asked for a non-custodial sentence. “The act of splashing liquid may be seen as a venting behaviour.”

Tsang did not take the stand after denying all the charges and no witnesses were called in his ­defence.

His identification was a major point of contention during the trial as the defence argued that Tsang was not the man shown in videos played in court.

But the magistrate was convinced, based on his appearance, that it was Tsang in footage provided by police as well as two clips from ATV.

Assaulting police and resisting arrest are both punishable by two years’ imprisonment.

Assaulting police and resisting arrest are both punishable by two years’ imprisonment.

Ken Tsang’s supporters carried a banner that read: ‘Plaintiff turned defendant, prosecuted after he was beaten.’ Photo: Dickson Lee
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