Suspects started clash between residents and protesters that led to elderly cleaner’s death, injured witness tells Hong Kong court
- Two young men on trial at High Court face charges of murder, wounding with intent and taking part in a riot
- Victim, 70, hit in the head with brick while filming skirmish outside MTR station during civil unrest in 2019
A man injured during a clash with anti-government protesters in Hong Kong in 2019 has accused his opponents of initiating an attack on local residents that resulted in the death of an elderly cleaner.
The witness testified at the High Court on Thursday against two young men who allegedly played a part in the murder of Luo Changqing in Sheung Shui on November 13, 2019.
A jury of two men and five women heard Luo, 70, was hit in the forehead by a flying brick while filming a morning skirmish between a group of mostly black-clad protesters seeking to paralyse traffic outside Sheung Shui railway station and residents attempting to clear the obstacles on the roads. He was certified dead in hospital the next day.
The witness, who was 61 at the time of the incident and only identified as X in court, was hit in the left eye by a brick before protesters attacked him while his vision became blurry.
Prosecutors have alleged student Chan Yin-ting, 18, and jobless man Kelvin Lau Tsz-lung, 19, murdered Luo by acting “together with other persons unknown”. The two suspects also stand accused of wounding X with intent and taking part in a riot. They have denied all three charges.
In her opening statement on Wednesday, on-fiat prosecutor Juliana Chow Hoi-ling told the jurors they could convict the defendants of murder if they could find an intent to cause grievous bodily harm to the victim.
Chow added on Thursday that even in the absence of evidence the defendants delivered the fatal blow to Luo, the jury could still find the pair guilty based on the legal principle of joint enterprise, as they had acted in concert with other protesters and were just as culpable as the assailants.
