Hong Kong court first: city’s leader Leung Chun-ying to testify in glass-throwing trial
Chief executive is a prosecution witness in assault case against radical lawmaker Wong Yuk-man
UPDATE at 9am Tuesday, April 19:
A media scrum packed the Eastern Law Courts Building entrance as photographers and cameramen arrived as early as 6am to secure a favorable filming location within the designated press site.
Reporters and members of the public were eager to enter the court as many arrived before seven to queue for a seat in courtroom seven.
According to notices posted in the building lobby, 53 seats were allocated to the public on a first-come-first-served basis while another 21 seats were given to press, with an additional 10 spots being standing quotas.
A small area was also allocated to a handful of pro-establishment protesters who secured on the railings a national flag and banners reading "Support CY Leung".
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Leung Chun-ying will become the first sitting chief executive to testify in a Hong Kong court today when he appears as a prosecution witness at the assault trial of lawmaker Wong Yuk-man, who is accused of throwing a glass at him.
Leung will miss the weekly Executive Council meeting, the Post has learned.
Eastern Court will become an extension of the traditional political battle between the government and pan-democratic camp in the Legislative Council, where the alleged offence occurred.
Wong is accused of assaulting the city’s leader in July 2014 by throwing a glass and a sheaf of documents at him during a question-and-answer session in the Legco chamber.
The Executive Council secretariat said Leung would be absent at today’s meeting, which would be chaired by Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
Leung’s office would not comment further.
The chief executive, his bodyguards and a lawmaker are among the 20 witnesses expected to be called by the prosecution.
Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung and six lawmakers will be summoned as defence witnesses.
Wong had originally hoped that the court would allow him to summon Lam and 80 others as witnesses. But it allowed him only seven witnesses.
Magistrate Chu Chung-keung decided earlier this month to summon Cheung because he allegedly spoke to the 64-year-old independent lawmaker after the incident, saying: “Don’t be so radical, throwing a glass.”
The six lawmakers are Leung Yiu-chung, Joseph Lee Kok-long, Kwok Ka-ki, Abraham Razack, James Tien Pei-chun and Albert Chan Wai-yip.
The trial was originally scheduled to start last week but was adjourned. The court rejected Wong’s application to postpone proceedings indefinitely.
