Hong Kong protests: 16-year-old first to receive detention sentence after pleading guilty to rioting during 2019 unrest
- Judge Ernest Lin says the court hopes to help the current Form Four student, aged 14 at the time of his crime, turn over a new leaf
- Of the more than 10 others who previously pleaded guilty to the same charge, all were sentenced to prison terms of varying lengths
District Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung on Wednesday ruled that remanding the teenager in a detention centre – a special type of facility reserved for young male offenders – “for a short period of time with counselling” was appropriate as an alternative to imprisonment.
Lin said the ruling reflected the court’s intention to help the young man turn over a new leaf, but stressed the student must take responsibility for his own actions as he was already “mentally mature” when he was arrested at the age of 14.
“The defendant might have been convinced by certain academics or politicians to ‘achieve justice by violating the law’ … If he did so and thought that he could be forgiven for committing illegal acts, this is fallacious, because the concept is subjective,” he said.
“Without doubt, the defendant flouted the law and must bear the consequence.”
Because he is between the ages of 14 and 20, the teen’s stay in the detention centre will last anywhere from one to six months. Whether he is released before the six months are up will depend on his conduct, and is ultimately decided by the commissioner of correctional services.