判刑理由書撮要(由AI生成)
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The judgment states that Defendant and nine others were charged after a police prohibition and failed appeal against a public procession proposed by a civil human rights group on 1 October 2019. Defendants 1–4 held press conferences and published social-media messages inciting the public to join, then all Defendants organised and led a procession from Causeway Bay to Central, during which roads were blocked, public order was disrupted and violent and destructive acts occurred. All pleaded guilty to organising an unauthorised assembly, Defendants 1–4 pleaded guilty to incitement, and Defendants 7 and 10 pleaded guilty to participation.
The judge applied established public-order sentencing principles emphasising deterrence and punishment, drawing on authorities (Wong Chi Fung, Chung Ka Ho, Poon Yung Wai) to require immediate custodial sentences for incitement, organisation or participation in unauthorised assemblies given the real risk of violence.
Considering the deliberate incitement by Defendants 1–4 via press conferences and social media, the mass publicity, disregard for lawful prohibition, evidence of widespread obstruction, vandalism and violence along the route, and the need to uphold public order, the judge set starting points (24 months for incitement and organisation, 18 months for organisation alone, 12 months for participation), reduced by 25% for early guilty pleas, and gave limited weight to personal mitigation.
The judge held that rights of assembly and expression are qualified by law, that the defendants’ call to defy a lawful prohibition amid violent unrest was naive and endangered public safety, and that acts of “civil disobedience” carry no significant mitigating weight when the inherent risk of violence materialised.
Defendants 1–4 were each sentenced to concurrent 18-month terms for incitement and organisation. Defendants 5–8 received 14-month terms for organisation. Defendant 7 also received a concurrent 9-month term for participation and had a 14-day suspended sentence from an earlier offence activated to run consecutively. Defendant 10 received a concurrent 9-month term for participation and his 14-month term for organisation was suspended for 24 months. Defendants 9 and 10 had their 14-month organisation terms suspended for 24 months. Effective custodial terms for repeat offenders ranged from 12 to 22 months as ordered under the totality principle.
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