Hong Kong protests: first defendants to admit rioting during PolyU clashes jailed for 32 months each
- Sze Ying-ho, 24, and Man Tsz-keung, 21, sentenced for their involvement in violent disturbances during the siege of PolyU, a notorious episode of the 2019 unrest
- The pair were among dozens who clashed with police near to PolyU’s Hung Hom campus to give besieged protesters there a chance to escape
The first two protesters to admit to rioting during violent clashes with police two years ago around Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have each been jailed for 32 months.
The judge also noted that construction worker Sze Ying-ho, 24, and clerk Man Tsz-keung, 21, were both young men of prior clear record, with proper jobs and the support of their family, and that they had committed the offence on impulse.
The pair were among 50 who assembled beneath a section of the Gascoigne Flyover near Diocesan Girls’ School on November 18, when protesters clashed with police near PolyU in an attempt to give their comrades – who had been trapped inside the campus for seven days – a window to escape.
Sze, who was carrying two knives and a hammer at the time, was spotted placing a plastic barrier in front of a police cordon on the road.
His co-defendant, Man, was intercepted by police a minute later, with suspected petrol bombs found in his possession.
In mitigation, Sze said he was on his way to work when he decided to go to the area out of concern, believing rumours that police or the People’s Liberation Army would barge into the university.
Sze initially was a mere observer. But, as emotions ran high, he became influenced by others on site and picked up equipment from the ground to join the action, pushing a barrier to the front lines with the aim of protecting others.