Hong Kong protests: student who admitted rioting during 2019 PolyU siege jailed for 2½ years

Deputy judge cites Chia Kwan-sin’s good character as a factor in reduction of sentence, saying defendant is ‘not someone who tends to stir up trouble’

The 18-year-old had opted for jail time over alternatives such as a term of correctional training

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Anti-government protesters clash with riot police on Nathan Road in Yau Ma Tei on November 18, 2019. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 7:23pm, 2 Sep 2021Updated: 7:37pm, 2 Sep 2021

An 18-year-old student who admitted rioting in a violent demonstration linked to a university clash during the 2019 Hong Kong protests has been jailed for 2½ years.

Chia Kwan-sin returned before a District Court judge in West Kowloon Court on Thursday, three days after he pleaded guilty to taking part in an illegal rally on November 19, 2019, aimed at breaking a police siege of Polytechnic University campus occupied by anti-government protesters.

Deputy judge Peter Hui Shiu-keung said the court was obliged to impose deterrent sentences on “lawless” behaviour which endangered society.

But he also accepted that the defendant, who graduated from secondary school this summer, was “a motivated and ambitious teenager with purpose and aspiration”, citing favourable comments from his teachers and a list of extracurricular activities relating to personal development in which Chia was previously involved.

The case was heard at the District Court. Photo: Warton Li

“I believe the defendant is not a juvenile who is aggressive and violent, nor someone who tends to stir up trouble,” Hui said, adding that Chia had committed the offence as a result of an error in judgment.

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