Hong Kong protests: prosecutors challenge stargazing defence of former student leader found with laser pointers
- Keith Fong, 23, is on trial at District Court charged with possessing offensive weapons, resisting a police officer and perverting the course of justice
- Fong, ex-president of Baptist University’s student union, told police he bought the laser devices to look at the stars
Hong Kong prosecutors have challenged the claim of a former student leader on trial for possessing laser pointers during the 2019 protests that he was planning to use the devices for stargazing.
Keith Fong Chung-yin, then president of Baptist University’s student union, had bought 10 boxes of laser pointers at HK$4,200 (US$540) from a hawker stall at Ap Liu Street in Sham Shui Po on August 6 that year.
The District Court heard Fong later told police that he had bought them for stargazing and that his arresting officer had scared him when he was intercepted afterwards.
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But acting assistant director of public prosecutions Ivan Cheung Cheuk-kan questioned if Fong had a genuine interest in astronomy and argued that the student had bought the laser pointers for the purpose of harming others, knowing how such devices were being used during the anti-government protests.
On Monday, the 23-year-old pleaded not guilty to three charges stemming from the incident – possessing offensive weapons in a public place, resisting a police officer and perverting the course of public justice.
Opening the case before Judge Douglas Yau Tak-hong, Cheung said six officers had been injured by laser beams in the execution of their duties during protests since June 2019. The injuries included weakened vision, inflammation and subconjunctival bleeding.
Police constable Wong Hon-fung testified that he was browsing leather bags while dressed in plain clothes after coming off duty on the night of August 6, when he overheard a woman selling laser devices at the neighbouring hawker stall.
“This one [emits] blue light,” he recounted the woman as saying. “Be careful, [it’ll] pierce through objects. It’s only sold here, HK$420 apiece.”
Wong said he then saw blue light and noticed a burning smell, so he looked over and found a woman flashing a “laser gun” towards a stack of newspapers in front of a man he later identified as Fong.
“Will take 10,” Fong allegedly replied. “Later.”
Seeing that Fong had left, the officer said he approached the woman to ask about the laser device and was given the same demonstration, which left the newspaper charred and emitting smoke within seconds.
Wong alerted his superiors and waited for Fong’s return, watching as the student collected his purchase in a white plastic bag, before his colleagues arrived.
The constable said he later witnessed his superior, sergeant 52338, intercept Fong. But the student was said to have suddenly run away so the more junior officer approached to offer assistance in apprehending the “uncooperative” student. Fong was arrested at about 7.25pm.
In video clips capturing the arrest, Fong was heard saying that he had purchased the laser pointers for stargazing but that he did not buy batteries, Cheung said.
Fong was also heard accusing police of grabbing his neck and saying that he did not see the sergeant identify himself. He said the officer scared him when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.
The student was later sent to Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po for treatment after he reported feeling unwell.
But it was not until 9.53pm that police seized his mobile phone in the presence of his lawyer.
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Cheung said investigators later unlocked his phone and found that it had no instant communication apps, contacts or call records. A series of settings, which included the date, user profile and password, were also said to have been reconfigured at 8.35pm.
The prosecutor said Fong was not a member of the university’s astronomy club and police did not find any books or instruments related to the subject or stargazing when officers searched his residence in December last year.
There was no dispute that the seized laser pointers fell under Class 4 of the International Electrotechnical Commission standards, meaning it was “extremely dangerous”, capable of emitting high-powered beams that could cause burns and permanent blindness and posed a fire hazard.
The defence also agreed that such devices were “too dangerous” for leisure activities and had no use in a domestic setting, but that they could be used in an industrial context for cutting and soldering, or in the military for weapons production.
The parties further agreed that green light was typically recommended for stargazing activities, because the human eye is more sensitive to that colour.
Wong’s testimony continues on Tuesday.
