Hong Kong protests: teens involved in Polytechnic University clashes have charges struck out
- Magistrate issues care and protection order after 14-year-olds plead guilty to taking part in unlawful assembly
- Boy and girl had initially been accused of rioting during incident on November 18
But the boy and girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were on Tuesday given care and protection orders at the Juvenile Court, which requires them to maintain good behaviour for a year.
The removal of charges is a power granted to the court under section 15 of the Juvenile Offenders Ordinance, which gives the presiding magistrate discretion to sentence a young person from a rehabilitation standpoint.
The two teenagers were initially accused of rioting on Gascoigne Road in Jordan on November 18, the day when protesters clashed with police outside PolyU in Hung Hom. Taking part in a riot is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors did not press on with the charge after the pair pleaded guilty to a lesser count of taking part in an unlawful assembly, which carries a maximum penalty of five years behind bars.
According to the prosecution, the pair had charged a police cordon alongside 100 protesters one block away from PolyU. They were arrested outside the Lands Tribunal at 4pm, after being struck in the legs by tear gas canisters.