Hong Kong parallel-trading protesters who berated a mother and her child in Tuen Mun sentenced

Two people protesting against parallel-goods trading were spared immediate jail sentences for yelling aggressively at a mother and her four-year-old daughter.

Computer repair technician Chan Bo-kee, 47, and student Kuoc Ho-pan, 16, had earlier pleaded guilty in Tuen Mun Court to one count each of disorderly conduct in a public place.

Chan today was sentenced to one month imprisonment, suspended for one year, while Kuoc was ordered to perform 120 hours of community service.

Sentencing the pair, magistrate Kelly Shui, who had called their actions “despicable”, said: “This kind of bullying behaviour cannot be tolerated.

“The sentence must reflect the court’s ill feeling towards this kind of action.”

Asking the pair to seriously reflect on their wrongdoing, Shui said they had adversely affected Hong Kong, adding that she noticed “people are getting more and more hot-tempered”.

Shui was especially critical of Chan.