Hong Kong protests: four young students spared detention after pleading guilty to trashing snacks store

Principal Magistrate Peter Law says he is satisfied the four girls will receive adequate support from their families and teachers in turning over a new leaf

However, he warns they could also have been sentenced to prison, ‘because this was an act of lawlessness’

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Eastern Court handed four girls probation and community service orders for their roles in trashing a snacks shop in 2019. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 8:37pm, 10 Mar 2021Updated: 8:37pm, 10 Mar 2021

Four secondary school students were spared detention on Wednesday after they admitted vandalising a snacks store that came under attack by hardcore elements during Hong Kong’s 2019 anti-government protests.

Instead, Eastern Court either gave the girls community service orders or placed them on probation at the request of defence lawyers.

Principal Magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen said he was satisfied the four would receive adequate support from their families and teachers in turning over a new leaf without being sentenced to correctional training.

But he warned the four: “These are no light punishments. It would not have been harsh to sentence you all to prison, because this was an act of lawlessness.”

The case centred on a flashmob attack on the Best Mart 360 branch at Metroplaza in Kwai Chung on October 13, 2019, when protesters responded to online calls to stage demonstrations in shopping malls across the city.

The Best Mart 360 chain became a target of hardcore protesters after unsubstantiated rumours accused its chairman of links to mainland gangs. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

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