Hong Kong prosecutors lose final bid to go after activist cleared over sandwich thrown at former leader CY Leung
- Avery Ng says the case shows how much money authorities are willing to spend to quash dissent, adding that he will come up with something ‘more innovative’ in future
Hong Kong's prosecutors lost their final bid on Friday to convict an activist of assault after he threw a sandwich at former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying.
It took about 15 minutes for the Court of Final Appeal to come to a decision on not granting the Department of Justice permission to pursue Avery Ng Man-yuen, chairman of the League of Social Democrats, after one judge cast doubt on the rarity of the case.
He was convicted of assaulting policeman Lau Wing-kwan because Leung had dodged the sandwich and it hit the officer instead.
The incident took place on September 4 in 2016, the day of the Legislative Council elections. Ng bought two sandwiches before heading to a polling station in Central, where Leung was.
He said one was for his breakfast, and hurled the other sandwich at Leung as a reminder that the elderly were struggling to even afford a meal.
But the appeal court cleared his name, saying that prosecutors had selected the wrong victim, which should have been Leung. The prosecutors therefore lodged a final appeal.
Activist who threw sandwich at CY Leung has conviction quashed
On Friday, director of public prosecutions Derek Leung Cheuk-yin SC argued that the case contained important legal principles to be discussed. He also argued that the appeal judge had wrongly assessed the facts in Ng’s case, thus leading to the acquittal.
But Mr Justice Roberto Ribeiro said essentially Leung was asking the top court to retry a defendant, which only happens in rare and exceptional circumstances.
“Why is this case rare and exceptional?” Ribeiro asked before throwing out the appeal with Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li and Mr Justice Kemal Bokhary.
Activist Avery Ng denies inciting protesters outside Beijing’s liaison office, court hears
They made the decision without Ng’s barrister addressing them.
Speaking outside court, Ng called the Department of Justice’s bid “ridiculous”.
He said his case showed how much money the government and secretary for justice were willing to spend to quash a dissenting voice.
“I stress that the root of this case stems from the fact that Hong Kong is rife with poverty problems. That’s why we protested against Leung,” he said.
Asked if he would still use a sandwich as a prop, Ng said: “I think I will come up with a more innovative way in the future.”
