First aid volunteer arrested at Hong Kong anti-government protest pleads guilty to using walkie-talkie without a licence

The 21-year-old faces a potential jail sentence of two years when he is sentenced on April 27

The man was among a group of eight intercepted after a sweep near the vandalised Tuen Mun MTR station

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Protesters set up a roadblock in Hong Kong’s Tuen Mun area during a September 21 protest. First aid volunteer Ng Hei-lun was arrested at the protest and charged with possession of an unlicenced walkie-talkie. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 6:43pm, 16 Mar 2020Updated: 6:50pm, 16 Mar 2020

A Hong Kong man on Monday pleaded guilty to using a walkie-talkie without a licence in his role as an unofficial first aid volunteer at an anti-government protest six months ago.

Transport worker Ng Hei-lun, 21, used the handheld radio to communicate with other fellow first-aiders during a protest in Tuen Mun on September 21, Kwun Tong Court heard.

Defence lawyers told the court Ng was unfamiliar with the city’s telecommunications laws, which prohibit the possession of radio communication devices without government approval.

An unofficial first-aid volunteer arrested in September pleaded guilty to using a walkie-talkie without a licence at Kwun Tong court on March 16. Photo: Nora Tam

Magistrate Veronica Heung Shuk-han adjourned sentencing to April 27 in Tuen Mun Court, pending a probation report.

Prosecutors said that on the afternoon of September 21, police intercepted eight people following a sweep near the Tuen Mun MTR station, where a large crowd of protesters had assembled. Some had been seen vandalising the station’s facilities and shining laser pointers at officers.