Hong Kong protests: Polytechnic University scientist who tried to help protester shot by police jailed for a year
- Dr Yau Wang-tat sentenced to a year behind bars after being found guilty of unlawful assembly
- Yau, who recently completed his doctorate in applied physics, tried to go to aid of Tsang Chi-kin during clashes on October 1, 2019
A Hong Kong scientist who sought medical attention for a protester shot by police during the 2019 unrest has been jailed for a year for taking part in an unlawful assembly.
Dr Yau Wang-tat, who obtained a PhD in applied physics at Polytechnic University earlier this year, was sentenced at the District Court on Friday, one month after admitting the charge arising from the clashes in Tsuen Wan on October 1, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Although a suspended jail sentence was an option, Deputy Judge Li Chi-ho ruled out that possibility, citing the violent nature of the protest and a lack of exceptional mitigating factors.
Li also said an officer’s use of a pistol to subdue Form Five student Tsang Chi-kin was justified, adding the illegal demonstration was marked by intense violence and clear premeditation.
Tsang, now 20, was initially charged alongside Yau and five others with rioting, with Tsang facing two additional counts of assaulting a police officer.
On October 1, a number of mostly masked protesters set up multiple roadblocks in Tsuen Wan and hurled petrol bombs and bricks at police.