Hong Kong protester who took part in Yuen Long anniversary event that turned violent jailed for more than three years
- Judge sentences Cheung Yu-tai to 40 months in jail for his participation in a Yuen Long protest in which a passer-by was assaulted
- His co-defendant, Law Hiu-fung, is to spend up to six months in a detention facility for his part in the same protest
Cheung’s co-defendant, student Law Hiu-fung, was sent to detention for up to six months for his involvement in an unlawful assembly in the lead-up to the riot.
District Judge Frankie Yiu Fun-che said the pair had played “very active roles” in the incident, in which protesters blocked roads, vandalised the railway station and a restaurant, and beat up a white-clad man who was on his way home after work. They had also smashed his mobile phone.
On December 22, Law, 18, pleaded guilty to one count of taking part in an unlawful assembly, while Cheung, 32, admitted to one count of rioting and another of false imprisonment.
The court heard protesters had assembled at Yoho Mall in Yuen Long at 9pm, most of them clad in black and wearing helmets and masks, before moving towards the town centre.
Prosecutors said Law sprayed paint on 14 sets of security cameras, eight of which belonged to an Oliver’s Super Sandwich outlet, causing HK$7,000 in damage. He also helped move tables and chairs from the restaurant to barricade a road outside Exit F of Yuen Long MTR station.
The group later moved onto Hong King Street, where they intercepted 52-year-old Li Tak-chung and accused him of removing posters from a so-called Lennon Wall. The man knelt on the ground and swore he did not do that.
In a video submitted by prosecutors, Cheung was filmed pushing down on Li’s shoulders, causing the man to bend lower, before onlookers helped him up. Cheung was later seen smashing Li’s phone onto the ground, as protesters assaulted the man until paramedics came to his rescue.
In Wednesday’s mitigation, Cheung’s lawyer said his client had committed the crime following his “rash” decision to stop taking medication and attending medical check-ups, having previously been diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactive disorder. He added that Cheung was “deeply remorseful”.
Hong Kong police brace for weekend of violence with clashes expected at Lennon Walls
Law’s lawyer, meanwhile, cited a mitigation letter by the student’s mother, who said he might have suffered emotionally following his father’s death in 2017. The lawyer urged the court to pass a lenient sentence to enable Law to pursue a degree at a university in Taiwan after his release.
Yiu, the judge, set the starting point for sentencing at 5½ years behind bars for Cheung, before reducing the term to 40 months in consideration of his mental condition and timely guilty plea.
“[Cheung’s] acts can be described as violent and very barbaric. It is difficult to imagine such outrageous acts done in broad daylight in a civilised society like Hong Kong,” Yiu added.
Law, meanwhile, was sent to be detained at Sha Tsui Correctional Institution on Lantau Island in view of his young age and the “very positive” comments on his behalf from the public jail operator, the Correctional Services Department.
Yiu also ordered Cheung to pay Li HK$2,500, and Law to pay the restaurant HK$7,000 in damages.
