Hong Kong protests: 6 found guilty of rioting in first trial related to PolyU campus siege in 2019
- District Court judge remands five men and a woman, aged between 18 and 23, in custody until December 10 for sentencing
- Defendants, including three students, were among a group of protesters suspected of breaking out from the campus
Deputy District Judge Colin Wong Sze-cheung on Saturday remanded the five men and a woman, aged between 18 and 23, in custody until December 10 for sentencing after finding them guilty.
Polytechnic University in Hung Hom was the scene of a fierce stand-off between hundreds of protesters and police, who cordoned off the campus, in mid-November 2019 as violent anti-government demonstrations rocked the city.
The six defendants, including three students, were among 17 protesters suspected of breaking out from the campus to hide at the nearby Hong Kong Science Museum on the morning of November 18.
The District Court judge said he was convinced the 17 had joined a series of illegal assemblies that took place across the university that day, during which police had already set up cordons at various points around the campus, including the entrances, and blocked traffic.
The six had pleaded not guilty to the rioting charge, with their defence counsel arguing there had been no riot when the group left the campus for the museum.