Hong Kong protests: stage technician arrested while trying to throw petrol bomb at police gets four years’ jail
- Voicing discontent with bombs ‘absolutely unacceptable’, judge says at District Court sentencing
- Yiu Siu-hong, 23, was grabbed by police at an anti-government protest in the city’s Tseung Kwan O neighbourhood on October 13
Yiu Siu-hong, 23, had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of possession of an offensive weapon and another of attempted arson with intent at the District Court.
He was intercepted by four off-duty officers on October 13, just as he was about to ignite a glass bottle filled with petrol at a protest in Tseung Kwan O.
Sentencing Yiu on Wednesday, District Judge Amanda Woodcock said that while he may have been trying to voice discontent with the government’s proposed extradition law, which sparked months of social unrest, it was no excuse for his actions.
“[T]o do it with petrol bombs is absolutely unacceptable,” she said.
She ruled Yiu had arrived prepared to cause trouble, as demonstrated by a second glass bottle containing flammable liquid found in his rucksack, along with a helmet, a respirator, a laser pointer and a can of spray paint – items commonly found at last year’s anti-government protests.
She added that Yiu, clad in a black cap, a black balaclava, and a black jacket, was dressed in a manner intended to avoid detection, and had deliberately aimed at the barricade, knowing police officers were present.