Taxi driver accused of assaulting two men in Lennon Wall row ordered by Hong Kong court to report to police three times a week while on bail
- Wong Kin-hoi, 46, is alleged to have struck two men at anti-extradition bill display in Ngau Tau Kok on July 11
A Hong Kong taxi driver accused of assaulting and injuring two men in a row over one of the city’s Lennon Walls has been ordered to report to a police station three times a week.
The condition was imposed as Wong Kin-hoi, 46, was granted HK$5,000 (US$640) cash bail on his first appearance at Kwun Tong Court on Friday.
The Ngau Tau Kok resident has been charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, an offence punishable by three years’ imprisonment.
Prosecutors alleged that he assaulted Lee Chun-kwong and Mak Sai-kit on July 11 outside the construction site of the East Kowloon Cultural Centre in Ngau Tau Kok, where a Lennon Wall had appeared.
Such walls have sprung up across the city, with people leaving messages on Post-it notes related to the anti-extradition protests, a movement some pro-Beijing critics have accused of being backed by foreign powers.
Lennon Walls plastered with protest messages blossom all over Hong Kong
Wong was not required to enter a plea on Friday as prosecutors needed more time to consult legal advice on whether the present charges were appropriate.
They did not object to his release on bail.
The man’s bail application was granted on the condition that he report to Ngau Tau Kok police station three times a week and live at his reported address.
Magistrate Jason Wan Siu-ming also warned him not to contact any of the prosecution witnesses.
The case will return to the same court on August 30.
