Hong Kong protests: student accused of rioting at Chinese University tells court he went there to attend his sister’s graduation ceremony
- Cheung Chun-ho, 19, also admits he knew the ceremony had been cancelled the day before he visited the campus
- But he still went there and found himself caught between protesters and police officers, he says
But vocational institute student Cheung Chun-ho, 19, also admitted on Monday he knew the ceremony had been cancelled the day before he visited the Sha Tin campus for the first time on November 12.
“My sister had told me,” Cheung testified under cross-examination in the District Court. “But her class teacher said it would proceed as scheduled so we could still go.”
When asked to clarify, Cheung said he understood that to mean they could still go to take photos, so he travelled to the university after work that afternoon – only to be told by his sister that the ceremony had really been cancelled because the campus was “a mess”. The court heard his sister and other family members did not go to the campus that day.
Out of curiosity, Cheung then stayed behind and entered the campus to observe the protests from a distance.
But he soon found himself caught between protesters and a growing number of police officers, who subsequently raised warning flags and fired tear gas that made him retreat farther into the campus uphill as the smoke irritated his eyes and made him cough.
Cheung said a woman then approached to ask if he was OK and led him away from the irritating smoke before giving him a respirator and a pair of gloves.