Mong Kok riot: youngest of 10 defendants given heaviest sentence for ‘wanton use of violence that took advantage of tolerant police’
District Court had heard Mo Jia-tao hurled more than 16 bricks and other hard objects at officers
One of the youngest men to be prosecuted over the Mong Kok riot of 2016 was jailed for more than four years on Thursday – the heaviest of 10 sentences handed down in a trial that spanned a whole year.
Mo’s punishment of 51 months in jail stood in sharp contrast with that of Yep Chi-fung, also 19, who was sent to a training centre after throwing a handful of bricks at officers “out of fun” as Kwok ruled such a detention could help the young man of a clear record to rehabilitate himself.
West Kowloon Court heard each of the 10 men took part in varying degrees “in furtherance of the riot”, which injured 47 officers across four major roads.
The offence carried a penalty of up to 10 years behind bars, but was capped at seven years for this case as it was transferred from the District Court.