Hong Kong opposition lawmaker granted bail over rioting charge tied to Yuen Long attack as police chief denies force ‘rewriting history’
- Democratic Party’s Lam Cheuk-ting defiant as he emerges from court after facing riot charge, accusing authorities of failing to bring perpetrators to justice
- Police Commissioner Chris Tang wades into controversy over previous remarks by senior officer, saying force should focus on facts
The Democratic Party’s Lam Cheuk-ting and six others appeared in West Kowloon Court to face one joint count of rioting. Lam was at the station when a group of white-clad men armed with steel rods and rattan canes attacked commuters and protesters on July 21 last year.
Principal Magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen granted them bail but required they regularly report to police, stay at their addresses and hand over their travel documents. No pleas were required as the magistrate adjourned the case to October 12 for police to conduct further investigation and seek legal advice. Senior assistant director of public prosecutions Anthony Chau Tin-hang said the Department of Justice suspected at least 20 others connected to the attack remained at large.
Lam also appeared at a later hearing to face one count stemming from a protest outside Tuen Mun Police Station on July 6 last year. He is accused of intending to pervert the course of justice, along with Democratic Party colleague Ted Hui Chi-fung and two others. No pleas were entered and all were granted bail.
Lam and Hui appeared on the ground floor of the court building after spending 36 hours in detention, as more than 100 supporters, dressed in black, cheered and chanted: “Shame on political prosecution.”
Lam continued to lash out at authorities, saying: “Not only did they not go after the perpetrators behind July 21 … Instead, they came to arrest me and my friends.”
The arrests have thrust the events at Yuen Long MTR station that night, coming as the anti-government protests rumbled on over last summer, back into the spotlight, with duelling narratives of who is to blame. Video clips taken at the scene show the white-clad men beating up protesters and passengers inside the station, chasing them up an escalator and into train carriages, with officers nowhere in sight. By the time the attack was over in the early morning, 45 people were left with injuries, including a pregnant woman. Police have now made 57 arrests in connection with the incident.