Hong Kong protests: kitchen worker receives longest jail time so far for rioting and breaching mask ban during Wan Chai demonstration in 2019
- Man, 33, among 26 charged for taking part in illegal gathering, where thousands protested against mask ban at demonstrations
- Judge says defendant played an active role in the riot following a conscious decision to remain at the scene
A kitchen worker who admitted taking part in an illegal protest in 2019 has been jailed for 43 months for rioting and breaching the Hong Kong government’s ban on wearing masks in public meetings.
The jail term handed to Derek Chan Chun-ling on Thursday marked the heaviest sentence to date slapped on a protester over the disturbance in Wan Chai on October 6, 2019, one day after the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation took effect.
The 33-year-old defendant was among 26 people charged in relation to the illegal gathering, where thousands of protesters confronted police to express their anger at the invocation of the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to ban mask-wearing at demonstrations.
The case concerned a stand-off that started at 5.12pm on a section of Hennessy Road between Stewart Road and Tonnochy Road, where protesters set up barricades, burned rubbish on the streets and shone laser lights at officers.
A total of 14 petrol bombs were launched at police during the conflict, with two of the projectiles hitting two reporters by mistake.
Wearing a black outfit, gas mask and goggles, Chan was first seen in security camera footage at around 5.27pm, when he carried a brick towards the centre of the road.
Police and press cameras later captured the defendant at the front line while protesters hurled bricks and petrol bombs at officers. He was arrested outside a bank at 5.55pm.