Hong Kong protests: Dutch tourist among four charged over weekend disturbance in Mong Kok

Edgar Willem Aart De Bruin, 31, set fire to rubbish bin at the junction of Shantung Street and Sai Yee Street, court told

De Bruin charged with one count of arson along with 42-year-old Tang Chun-keung, a merchandising manager

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Police made scores of arrests on Saturday night in Mong Kok. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 8:17pm, 2 Mar 2020Updated: 8:57pm, 2 Mar 2020

A Dutch tourist was among four defendants charged in a Hong Kong court on Monday in connection with an anti-government protest in Mong Kok over the weekend which saw 115 people arrested.

West Kowloon Court heard that Edgar Willem Aart De Bruin, 31, had set fire to a public rubbish bin at the junction of Shantung Street and Sai Yee Street on Saturday – six months after the mass arrest of protesters in Prince Edward MTR Station on August 31.

Defence counsel told Principal Magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen that De Bruin entered Hong Kong as a visitor but intended to apply for a work visa so he could teach at a local kindergarten.

De Bruin, whose visit visa expires in May, was charged with one count of arson along with 42-year-old Tang Chun-keung, a merchandising manager at a sports equipment company. They face 10 years in prison.

Police use tear gas to disperse protesters at a junction in Mong Kok. Photo: Felix Wong

The pair were refused bail and remanded in custody. They will next appear in Kowloon City Court on April 27.

Also brought to court was 19-year-old Jeffrey Nou, who faced one count of assaulting a police officer, an offence punishable by two years’ imprisonment.