A MAN who claimed he picked up a baseball bat to protect himself against six men, not knowing they were policemen, yesterday had his conviction quashed by a High Court judge. Allowing the appeal and setting aside the $5,000 fine, Mr Justice Leong said the finding of the trial magistrate that Wan Kwok-kuen was the aggressor was not the only inference that could be drawn from the evidence. It could also be inferred that he took the bat in self-defence, the judge said. Mr Wan, 30, had denied a charge of possession of an offensive weapon but was found guilty after a trial. The court heard Mr Wan was driving his car down Sai Yee Street, Kowloon, on September 19 when he got into a traffic argument with the driver of a van. When he saw six men get out of the van, he ran back to his car and got a baseball bat. A shouting match ensued. One of the six men stated they were police and told Mr Wan to drop the bat. While Mr Wan claimed that he obeyed immediately, it was the Crown's case that he only did so 10 seconds later. On appeal, his counsel, Stephen Llewellyn, said the evidence was consistent with out-numbered Mr Wan taking the bat to protect himself.