Trio to appeal three-year jail sentences for role in Mong Kok riot
They were first protesters to be convicted of rioting charge after Lunar New Year clash
Three young protesters were on Friday jailed for three years each for their roles in last year’s clashes in Mong Kok, becoming the first to be punished on a riot charge over Hong Kong’s most violent public disturbance in decades.
Students Hui Ka-ki, 23, and Mak Tsz-hei, 20, and cook Sit Tat-wing, 33, were convicted of the contentious charge after the District Court characterised the street violence on Lunar New Year’s Day – which started off with a hawker control operation gone wrong – as a riot. All three plan to appeal the convictions and sentences.
The case centred specifically on clashes on the northbound lane of Nathan Road, near Soy Street, in the small hours of February 9, 2016 when the trio joined 20 others in hurling glass bottles and a bamboo pole at police officers.
Judge Sham Siu-man said a deterrent sentence was needed to send a message to the public that anyone who participated in the disturbance would have to pay a price, which could sometimes be very great.“The court cannot condone such violent behaviour,” he told a full house in court.