Hong Kong protests: social worker, tutor jailed in two separate cases over violence and possession of dangerous items
- Presiding magistrates say deterrent sentences needed to maintain public order, as both men were involved in major protests during last year’s civil unrest
- Yan Ka-chai was found with materials for petrol bombs, while Yau Chi-lok was arrested for unlawful assembly and officer assault
A social worker and private tutor have been jailed in separate cases for violence and possession of dangerous items in two major protests during last year’s civil unrest, with the presiding magistrates calling for heavy penalties to deter similar offences and maintain public order.
Eastern Court on Thursday sentenced tutor Yan Ka-chai to 13 months behind bars for carrying raw materials for petrol bombs on November 11, when anti-government protesters called for a citywide strike and disrupted traffic in many districts.
The court also gave social worker Yau Chi-lok four months in prison for taking part in an unlawful assembly and assaulting an officer after a peaceful rally on June 9 against the now-withdrawn extradition bill, which drew an estimated 1 million people.
The magistrates who sentenced the duo said deterrent sentences were necessary in cases involving the use of, and threat of using violence, regardless of the defendants’ personal circumstances.
The court heard Yan, 24, became a tutor after he dropped out of university due to emotional problems. He was a former medical student at Chinese University and a graduate of Queen’s College, a prestigious secondary school in Hong Kong.