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Activist Edward is charged with one count of rioting for the 2016 Mong Kok unrest. Photo: Nora Tam

Leave political opinions to one side when deciding guilt, judge tells jurors in Mong Kok riot case

  • Hong Kong pro-independence activist Edward Leung is among four people charged with rioting on Lunar New Year’s Eve in February 2016

A Hong Kong pro-independence activist standing trial for a riot that gripped one of the city’s busiest neighbourhoods three years ago should not be judged solely on his political affiliation, a judge reminded a jury on Wednesday.

Rather, the jury of five women and four men should rule strictly in accordance with what they observed Edward Leung Tin-kei had done, based on the evidence presented to them, High Court Judge Mr Justice Albert Wong Sung-hau said. The panel will soon deliberate a verdict on Leung and his three co-defendants.

Wong said that while Leung’s political group might have been caught taking part in the clashes of February 8, 2016, he asked the jury to consider his act separately in a summing-up speech that marked the imminent end of the four-month trial.

Leung, 26, a former spokesman of independence group Hong Kong Indigenous, had been in the dock since November with three other co-defendants, who have pleaded not guilty to charges of rioting during the unrest that beset Mong Kok on the eve of Lunar New Year till the next morning.

A fire blazes on a street in Mong Kok during unrest on February 8, 2016. Photo: AFP

Acknowledging the sensitivity of the trial – in light of Leung’s political background – Wong on Wednesday told the jury they should leave their sentiments to one side.

“Do not incorporate morals, political leanings and personal feelings [into your judgment],” Wong said. “Don’t let certain strong perspectives on things affect your findings.”

In particular, the judge noted, there had been evidence throughout the trial which suggested that Leung was part of the political group advocating independence. Other members of the group, including another leader Ray Wong Toi-yeung, were shown in video footage played in court to have confronted police officers and hawker control officers in various ways throughout the night.

Edward Leung testifies in court as lawyer accuses authorities of bias

The court had heard that the night of commotion began on Portland Street as a result of a dispute between people supporting street vendors and officers from a hawker control team before things took a turn for the worse.

Some people later clashed with police officers deployed to the scene. The mayhem spilled over onto neighbouring streets, including the main thoroughfare Nathan Road, in the early hours of the morning.

A fire on a Mong Kok street during the unrest on February 8, 2016. Photo: Bloomberg

The court heard Leung took part in a stand-off with police in the earlier part of the evening on Portland Street, and had spoken to the crowd through a microphone.

But when he testified in court last month, Leung, who was disqualified from running in the 2016 Legislative Council elections after the riot, said he was using his capacity to ease tensions between the police and the crowd.

Localist activist and co-defendants charged police, riot trial hears

The judge reminded the jury that they had to consider Leung’s understanding of the situation when deciding why Leung had done what he did.

The activist has pleaded not guilty to one joint count of rioting, along with his three co-defendants: Lee Nok-man, 21, Vincent Lam Ngo-hin, 23, and Yung Wai-yip, 34. Yung also denied three further counts of rioting, and one each of taking part in an unlawful assembly, inciting others to take part in an unlawful assembly, and assaulting a police officer.

Wong will continue to direct the jury on Thursday.

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