Hong Kong protests: Yuen Long demonstrator pleads guilty to attacking 2 passers-by, lawyer cites influence of mental illness
- Decoration worker pleads guilty to three charges related to an unlawful assembly in Yuen Long on September 21, 2019
- Lawyer says defendant was influenced by his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
A decoration worker who took part in the assaults of two passers-by after an unlawful assembly at a shopping centre in 2019 was influenced by mental illness, his lawyer said, after he pleaded guilty to three charges at a Hong Kong court on Thursday.
Lego Chan Lai-to, 28, was found guilty at the District Court in relation to the disturbance in Yuen Long on September 21, 2019, five months after he was last released from jail. He had six previous convictions for deception.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the three charges, which consisted of rioting, taking part in an unlawful assembly, and wounding with intent.
The overnight chaos began at a demonstration where protesters expressed their anger over an indiscriminate attack on commuters and protesters by white-clad men at the local MTR station two months earlier.
The court heard protesters assembled at Yoho Mall at 9pm, with many dressed in black and wearing helmets and masks, before heading towards the town centre.
Chan caused about HK$7,000 (US$898) worth of damage after he defaced eight security cameras at an Oliver’s Super Sandwich outlet. He also helped build a roadblock outside Yuen Long MTR station with items stolen from the restaurant.