Hong Kong protests: defendants in Yuen Long mob attack trial insist they went to scene unarmed
- One defendant seen directing the violence says he only picked up stick in response to aggression from protesters, commuters
- Another says he only went to scene to observe, but picked up stick for protection
A man seen directing a white-clad mob to beat protesters and commuters at a Hong Kong railway station two years ago has said he was only retaliating for what he maintained was aggression on the part of his targets.
Merchant Tang Wai-sum’s lawyer told a judge on Wednesday his client had wished to “repel” the people he said had attacked him and his neighbours, so he picked up a wooden rod from the ground and swung it at a gathering crowd outside Yuen Long MTR station. He then instructed his accomplices to go after their victims inside the station’s concourse in the early hours of July 22, 2019.
Another lawyer acting for village representative Tang Ying-bun also maintained the stick in his client’s possession did not belong to him, but was picked up by chance.
The attack, in which a white-clad mob injured 45 protesters and commuters with rattan and wooden sticks, was a watershed moment in the anti-government protests, with police becoming the target of public anger for arriving late at the scene.
The force has since defended its response, saying it was stretched thin battling a protest in the heart of the city.
Both Tangs were found guilty last month after a trial, and were escorted to the District Court for the mitigation hearing on Wednesday alongside a third defendant, merchant Lam Kai-ming, 45, who pleaded guilty in February. The remaining four accused made their mitigation submissions in a previous hearing.