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The judgment states that in the early hours of 18 November 2019, the police dispersed protesters around Jordan Road and Nathan Road, whilst the protesters formed an umbrella barricade and hurled bricks and petrol bombs. About ten individuals fled from 524A Nathan Road into a side lane. Officers subsequently arrested four defendants at the end of the lane and within the side alley, of whom Defendant 1 admitted failing to produce identification documents; Defendants 2 and 3 denied the charge of using facial coverings during an unlawful assembly; all four denied the charge of rioting. The court then proceeded to trial based on the evidence.
Under the Public Order Ordinance provisions on the offences of rioting and using facial coverings during an unlawful assembly, the court must consider the statutory maximum penalties, sentencing guidelines, the defendant’s subjective intent and the degree of harm caused by the conduct.
The judge found the police witnesses honest and reliable. Only Defendant 3 took part in a riot at the junction of Nathan Road and Waterloo Road, wearing a helmet, mask and gloves to impede identification; the remaining defendants failed to dispel reasonable doubt, lacking direct evidence of running from Nathan Road into the side lane and participating in the riot.
Defendant 3 intentionally equipped himself and joined the rioting crowd, thereby forming part of the common rioters; at the time of arrest he hid for over thirty minutes and voluntarily answered police enquiries, demonstrating his criminal intent; the remaining defendants may have appeared in the side alley but did not demonstrate participation in the riot on Nathan Road, so the charges did not stand.
Defendant 3 was convicted of rioting and of using a facial covering during an unlawful assembly, with sentencing pending; all charges against Defendants 1, 2 and 4 were dismissed, and they were acquitted and released. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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判刑理由書撮要(由AI生成)
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According to the judgment, in the early hours of 18 November 2019 the protests in the Jordan Road and Nathan Road area escalated into a riot, during which protesters threw bricks and petrol bombs at the police and built an umbrella barricade near the Yoshinoya restaurant on Nathan Road, and the police fired rubber bullets to disperse them. In the adjacent side streets the police arrested two protesters. Defendant 1 was charged with an offence for failing to produce identification; Defendant 3 appeared at the scene wearing a helmet, face mask and gloves, and after the riot entered a side street to evade the police and was arrested. As a member of the crowd, he was convicted of rioting and of wearing a face covering during an unlawful assembly.
There are no sentencing guidelines for rioting: the sentence should take into account the scale of the riot, the degree of harm to public order, and the defendant’s level of participation and role; the maximum sentence for wearing a face covering during an unlawful assembly is 12 months’ imprisonment.
Defendant 3 knew that the riot was ongoing at the scene yet remained with the crowd and used a face mask and other equipment to avoid identification, which was sufficient to encourage and support others; Defendant 1 was present at the riot but was only involved in failing to produce identification, and may be punished with a fine.
The judge considered that the riot was of short duration, with no injuries or property damage, but Defendant 3’s actions amplified the momentum and required an appropriate punishment, and given his previous riot conviction it was inappropriate to significantly reduce the sentence on mitigation; Defendant 1, having no prior convictions and offering mitigation, could have his punishment reduced.
Defendant 1 was convicted of failing to produce identification documents and fined HK$2,000; Defendant 3 was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for rioting and six months’ imprisonment for wearing a face covering during an unlawful assembly, to be served concurrently, for a total of four years’ imprisonment. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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