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The judgment stated that on the night of 1 August 2019, the four defendants were followed and stopped by the police, and a large quantity of offensive and protective items was found in two industrial units in Fo Tan, Sha Tin, including 24 walking sticks, 10 baseball bats, 39 helmets, 37 pieces of body armour, 29 gas masks and other protest equipment, as well as 11 smoke bombs based on potassium chlorate, materials for incendiary petrol bombs (oil, sugar, washing powder, flour, etc.), spray paint, and homemade shields. The defendants pleaded guilty to all charges except the possession of radio communication devices, and the prosecution agreed to file that charge.
Charge 1 (possession of an offensive weapon in a public place) is under Section 33 of the Public Order Ordinance, with a starting sentence of 2 years in the District Court; Charge 4 (possession of an item with intent to destroy or damage property) is under Sections 62 and 63 of the Crimes Ordinance, with a starting sentence of 2 years in the District Court; Charge 5 (possession of explosives) is under Section 55 of the Crimes Ordinance, with a starting sentence of 2 years, increased to 27 months; Charge 6 (possession of an item with intent to destroy property) has a starting sentence of 4.5 months, increased to 6 months. A guilty plea may warrant a one-third reduction.
The judge considered that the quantity of materials involved was substantial and could be distributed to rioters for illegal use; the walking sticks and baseball bats could be lethal, and the petrol bomb materials posed a serious threat to police and the public, warranting heavy punishment and stronger deterrence; the defendants’ guilty pleas and remorse were the only mitigating factors.
The judge pointed out that the two industrial units were like arsenals, not only intended for personal use but also for distribution, which aggravated the seriousness of the offences; at the time of the incident the National Security Law had not been implemented, and any relevant political motives were only considered as background context and did not affect the sentencing framework; he also emphasised that if the public feared the appearance of weapons, the right to peaceful protest would be undermined.
The court ultimately sentenced the first defendant to 28 months’ imprisonment, the second defendant to 16 months’ imprisonment, the third defendant to 38 months’ imprisonment, and the fourth defendant to 16 months’ imprisonment. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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