First suspects charged under Hong Kong’s anti-mask law granted bail, after weekend of protests marred by violence
- City University student and woman, 38, granted bail after appearing in court charged with covering their faces at demonstration soon after ban introduced
- The accused made subject to curfew and travel ban, as city emerges from weekend of fresh violence triggered by new restriction
A student and an unemployed woman were granted bail at a court on Monday after they became the first to be charged under the new mask ban targeting anti-government protesters.
City University student Ng Lung-ping, 18, and Choi Yuk-wan, 38, were accused of taking part in an unlawful assembly outside Kai Tin Shopping Centre in Lam Tin, which was held overnight between Friday and Saturday.
They allegedly used a facial covering that was likely to prevent identification without lawful authority or reasonable excuse in the early hours of Saturday, the day the anti-mask legislation came into force.
At Eastern Court, acting principal magistrate Cheung Kit-yee adjourned the case to November 18 at Kwun Tong Court, pending further police inquiry.
Cheung granted Ng and Choi cash bail of HK$300 (US$38) and HK$1,000 respectively, but imposed a travel ban and curfew on the pair. She also ordered them to report to police once a week.
More than 100 supporters packed the court building, where they chanted “no crime for facial covering, no justification for legislation” as they waited for the defendants to leave.
Ng and Choi were the first to be charged under the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation imposed by city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who did so by invoking the Emergency Regulations Ordinance for the first time in more than half a century.
The regulation forbids anyone from wearing “facial coverings” that are likely to conceal a person’s identity during demonstrations, regardless of whether the assembly is lawful or not.
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Those convicted face up to one year in jail and a HK$25,000 (US$3,187) fine.
The prohibition has been subject to judicial challenges by several parties, including 24 pro-democracy lawmakers, a former student leader and a retired civil servant.
While the High Court has dismissed those emergency bids to suspend the ban, Mr Justice Godfrey Lam Wan-ho agreed to hear a judicial review application by the 24 lawmakers later this month.
