Hong Kong protests: two men each jailed for nearly four years for rioting at airport
- Their two co-defendants have been jailed for more than a year following convictions for taking part in an unlawful assembly
- In two separate cases, a student and a bartender were also jailed for four years and 39 months, respectively, for rioting during protests
Two men, who admitted to rioting during a protest at Hong Kong International Airport more than a year ago, have each been jailed for nearly four years.
Their two co-defendants were also jailed for more than a year following their convictions for taking part in an unlawful assembly in the lead-up to the violence.
The four men were among six defendants sentenced at the District Court on Wednesday in relation to three separate anti-government protests in 2019.
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Community officer Yau Man-king, 32, and railway technician Yip Man-leong, 25, in January pleaded guilty to rioting at the airport on the night of August 13, 2019, when protesters paralysed the air hub and clashed with police at the scene.
The pair were said to be among 10 protesters who attacked Constable Wong Yiu-wa after he was called to restore order at Terminal 1. Protesters dispersed after the officer raised his handgun, though he did not fire.
Before the assault, two co-defendants – cook Ko Wing-hong, 25, and janitor Mak Hang-hung, 24 – blocked police vans outside the building as officers were escorting an ambulance carrying a tourist from mainland China away from the scene. Ko and Mak were convicted of unlawful assembly last Thursday after trial.
Passing sentence on Wednesday, Judge Anthony Kwok Kai-on reiterated the importance of the court protecting frontline law enforcement officers, noting Wong was targeted only because he had accidentally bumped into a woman who was running away from police.