Hong Kong protests: ousted opposition lawmaker found guilty of assaulting police loses appeal against conviction
- Au Nok-hin was found guilty of attacking Constable Kwan Chi-ho and yelling at Superintendent Ko Chun-pong through a loudhailer in April 2020
- Madam Justice Maggie Poon reserves her reasons, to be handed down on a later date, but says Au was hostile towards officers on site
An ousted Hong Kong opposition lawmaker found guilty of assaulting two police officers with a loudhailer at an anti-government rally in 2019 has failed in his bid to clear his name.
Madam Justice Maggie Poon Man-kay reserved her reasons, to be handed down on a later date, but made a number of observations upon viewing footage of the incident during the hearing, describing Au as hostile towards the officers on site.
In particular, she noted that Au had called policemen “rogue cops” and “Yi Jin boys” – an apparent reference to a diploma programme – several times, before using the loudhailer to knock one of the officers’ shields.
The Yi Jin programme is a course introduced by the Hong Kong government to provide an alternative pathway to students to obtain a formal qualification for employment and further studies, and to equip them with generic skills.
“Judges don’t live in an ivory tower,” Poon said. “The ‘Yi Jin boy’ term was precisely a mockery of police officers’ low academic qualifications.”