National security law: bail denied for Hong Kong schoolgirl and 6 others charged with subversion under Beijing-imposed legislation
- Five secondary school pupils among seven members of pro-independence group charged with conspiracy to incite subversion
- The accused, aged between 15 and 25, were remanded in custody with the next hearing set for November
A 15-year-old girl was among seven members of a pro-independence group remanded in custody on Wednesday after they were charged under the national security law with inciting others to overthrow the Chinese and Hong Kong governments.
The defendants appeared at West Kowloon Court in the city’s second national security case to involve the Returning Valiant group.
Five secondary school pupils – the 15-year-old girl, Yuen Ka-him, Leung Yung-wan and Tseung Chau Ching-yu, all 16, and Kwok Man-hei, 18 – faced a joint count of conspiracy to incite subversion, together with shopkeeper Choi Wing-kit, 20, and salesman Chris Chan Yau-tsun, 25.
Yuen appeared in the dock dressed in the same school uniform he wore when National Security Department officers detained him and six others on Tuesday afternoon.
A charge sheet available for press inspection said the seven committed the offence between January 10 and May 6 this year, without offering further details.
Prosecutor Vincent Lee Ting-wai applied for a month-long adjournment so his team could prepare the necessary paperwork to move the case to the District Court for trial.