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One of the defendants who appeared at Kowloon City Court on Tuesday. Photo: Edmond So

Boy, 14, youngest person to be charged in connection with anti-government protests rocking Hong Kong

  • The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was among 20 people charged at two Hong Kong courts on Tuesday
  • He is accused of taking part in an unlawful assembly with 12 men and three women in Tsim Sha Tsui

A 14-year-old boy arrested outside Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station on Sunday became the youngest person charged in connection with the anti-government protests that have rocked Hong Kong.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was among 20 people charged at two Hong Kong courts on Tuesday on a raft of offences including rioting, assaulting police and possession of explosive substances, following the weekend’s arrests.

Seventeen, including the boy, were brought to Kowloon City Magistrates’ Court to face charges over the episode in Tsim Sha Tsui on Sunday. Two others were charged over a separate protest in the same shopping hub a day earlier. One man was charged at Sha Tin Court over another protest in that district.

The boy was accused of taking part in an unlawful assembly with 12 men and three women at the section of Nathan Road between Kimberly Road and Austin Road on Sunday. They all faced the same charge. A 17th defendant, 24-year-old Nip Ka-po, was accused of taking part in a riot in the same area on the same day.

Among them, prosecutors said, three defendants – two men and a woman aged between 18 and 21 – remained in hospital and would be brought to court on a later date. They suffered from a head injury or left upper-arm fracture.

The other 14 from that group were released on bail by Magistrate Raymond Wong Kwok-fai. Conditions include a HK$5,000 (US$637) cash deposit and obeying a curfew. They consisted of students, a delivery man, a transport worker, an air-conditioning technician and a social worker.

Hong Kong has been rocked by anti-government protests for weeks. Photo: Birdy Chu

They were among 24 men and six women, aged from 14 to 41, arrested near the Tsim Sha Tsui station after it came under attack for two consecutive days, starting on Saturday.

A police statement earlier said that crowds gathered outside the station at about 7.30pm, with some protesters throwing hard objects at officers and blocking roads with paraphernalia.

Prosecutors said those who took part in the unlawful assembly conducted themselves in a disorderly, intimidating, insulting or provocative manner intended or likely to cause any person to reasonably fear that those assembled would cause a breach of peace.

The case was adjourned to October 23 pending further investigations.

Thirteen others arrested on the same night were still being detained in police custody.

Also appearing at Kowloon City Court were a man and a woman arrested over a separate protest in Tsim Sha Tsui on Saturday.

Both applied for bail but only former flight attendant Kwok Lai-fan, 28, accused of assaulting police, was released on the condition that she obey a curfew, remain in Hong Kong and report to a police station once a week.

Security guard Cheong Hon-tung, 25, who was charged with possession of explosive substances, was remanded in jail custody.

His defence counsel, Randy Shek, said that his client was in hospital following “improper treatment” by police. A complaint has been filed.

At Sha Tin Court, Au Ka-wai, 25, who is unemployed, was charged with assaulting police officer Yeung Chun-yin outside Shun Wo House during a protest in the early hours of Monday.

He remained in hospital and did not appear in court. His case was adjourned to Friday.

Street protests and violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters have entered their tenth week, centring on opposition to the now-shelved extradition bill, which would have allowed transfers of criminal suspects to mainland China.

Protesters have since raised five demands, including having the bill completely withdrawn and an independent commission of inquiry look into possible abuse of power by police when responding to the protests.

Additional reporting by Chris Lau

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Boy, 14, youngest to be charged in protests
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