判決理由書／裁決書撮要(由AI生成)
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The judgment stated that on the night of 31 August 2019, the defendants successively erected roadblocks and set fire to miscellaneous materials or threw petrol bombs in the areas of Hennessy Road and Lockhart Road on Hong Kong Island. The police formed a defensive line then advanced along Hennessy Road to disperse the crowd and arrested multiple people. Eight were charged with riot, and other defendants faced additional charges of possessing offensive weapons. None of the defendants had any prior convictions; they denied the charges. After the prosecution’s presentation of evidence, the remaining defendants did not give evidence, and the fifth defendant was not required to plead.
Under sections 19(1) and (2) of the Public Order Ordinance, the offence of riot carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment; under section 33 of the Public Order Ordinance, the offence of possession of an offensive weapon is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment.
In considering the nature of the defendants’ conduct and the circumstances of the incident, the prosecution mainly relied on discrepancies between the police officers’ in-court testimony and their statements, identification evidence that carried a high risk, and there was no evidence of any defendant’s actual participation in activities before arrest; these did not satisfy the elements of riot or weapons possession.
The judge considered that the prosecution had failed to eliminate reasonable doubt, the evidence was insufficient to prove that the defendants had a common intention to disturb public peace, and there were doubts about the reliability of the police witnesses’ testimony; therefore, it was inappropriate to convict.
Since the prosecution failed to prove the defendants’ guilt, all charges were dismissed and the defendants were acquitted. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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