Hong Kong protests: 5 found guilty of rioting for roles in 2019 Yuen Long MTR attack, 1 acquitted

Those convicted were among a white-clad mob armed with wooden sticks and metal poles who injured 45 protesters and commuters on the night of July 21 and into the next morning

Wong Chi-wing was the sole defendant acquitted on Friday after prosecutors failed to prove he was the man seen in video footage shown in court

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A mob of men in white T-shirts attacked protesters and passengers at Yuen Long MTR station. Photo: Handout

Published: 3:44pm, 18 Jun 2021Updated: 10:18pm, 18 Jun 2021

Five men who attacked protesters and commuters at a Hong Kong railway station in 2019 have been convicted of rioting and wounding offences, but a sixth defendant was cleared of wrongdoing in one of the most shocking outbreaks of violence during that year’s anti-government unrest.

Friday’s District Court ruling concerned the overnight violence at Yuen Long MTR station between July 21 and 22, 2019, during which a white-clad mob armed with wooden sticks and metal poles injured 45 protesters and commuters.

The July 21 mob attack was something of a watershed moment in 2019’s social unrest, with the city’s police force becoming the target of widespread public anger for their belated arrival at the scene. The force, however, defended its response, saying it was stretched thin battling a protest in the heart of the city.

Transport worker Wong Chi-wing was the sole defendant acquitted following the 24-day trial, after prosecutors failed to prove he was a man caught on camera taking part in the violence.

Wong Chi-wing was the only one of the six defendants to be acquitted on Friday. Photo: Dickson Lee

But Judge Eddie Yip Chor-man found the remaining five defendants guilty on a total of 12 counts after dismissing their claims they were either misidentified, or were merely peacemakers and bystanders.