Hong Kong court shows leniency to cycling activist for illegally entering Legislative Council Complex
- Hong Kong Cycling Alliance member Martin Turner received a bind-over order at court for illegal entry, for resisting complex’s security staff
- Court orders Turner to enter into recognisance to engage in good behaviour and keep the peace, pay HK$300 (US$38) towards cost of proceeding
A Hong Kong activist has been granted conditional discharge after he admitted he unknowingly illegally entered the Legislative Council complex while riding a bicycle and taking pictures of the venue’s car park for a news story on sustainable transport.
Martin Turner, a member of the Hong Kong Cycling Alliance, received a bind-over order at Eastern Court on Monday over his run-in with the law on September 4 last year.
Prosecutors agreed to withdraw a charge of contravening an administrative instruction regulating admittance to the site and another for resisting Legco officers, provided the 60-year-old British-born campaigner admitted wrongdoing and bore the cost of the court session.
Magistrate Jacky Ip Kai-leung ordered the defendant to enter into recognisance to engage in good behaviour and keep the peace in the next year, failing which he would be fined HK$2,000 (US$254) and risk facing heavier punishment for any further offences.
The court heard that Turner skipped past a security check when he entered the complex by bicycle at about 4.53pm on September 4, with a guard letting him through under the mistaken belief he was delivering takeaways.
The activist then proceeded to the car park on the lower ground floor, where he used his smartphone to take pictures of the charging meters for electric cars inside the premises.
A guard stationed in the control room tried to intercept Turner, but the latter sped past him without answering his questions. Three other security staff were then called to intercept the 60-year-old on the ground floor, but he ignored their request to stop and left.
Police arrested Turner three days later at his home in North Point. The defendant told officers he was conducting research on the development of sustainable transport in the city for an online news agency, saying he hoped to learn more about the government’s efforts to support the initiative.
The activist said he was unaware that he needed to obtain a visitor’s pass before he could enter the complex.
The magistrate ordered Turner to pay HK$300 towards the cost of the proceedings.
Unauthorised entry to the complex is punishable by up to three months’ imprisonment and a HK$2,000 fine, while resisting a Legco officer carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in jail and a HK$10,000 fine.