判刑理由書撮要(由AI生成)
以下撮要以AI生成及／或翻譯，內容以原來的判刑理由書為準。
The judgment notes that between 17 and 18 November 2019, a series of protests and riots occurred at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Protesters threw bricks, miscellaneous objects and petrol bombs at the police, and set fire to an armoured vehicle. The police issued multiple warnings and cordoned off the campus, then cleared the area in the early hours of the following day and arrested all defendants. One individual additionally pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer causing grievous bodily harm, while two others were charged with wearing face coverings during an unlawful assembly.
The sentencing starting point for the offence of rioting is three years’ imprisonment; for the offence of intending to cause grievous bodily harm it is five years; and for the offence of wearing a mask it is two months. Considerations include the scale of the riot, the degree of violence, the injuries and damage caused, the level of participation and the role played.
Defendants who plead guilty may receive a 20% to 22% reduction. Those who plead guilty during the trial receive an additional one-month reduction, and those under 21 at the time of the offence receive a further two-month reduction. Lack of prior convictions and other personal circumstances do not constitute grounds for further reduction.
The bench emphasises the seriousness of the offence of rioting; even those with minimal participation must face substantial punishment and cannot have their sentences reduced on the grounds of not directly using violence or being incited by others. Sentencing must balance both punitive and deterrent purposes.
Each defendant was sentenced to between 26 and 35 months’ imprisonment for the offence of rioting. The defendant convicted of assaulting a police officer causing grievous bodily harm received a total sentence of 56 months’ imprisonment for both offences. The two defendants who wore masks during an unlawful assembly had their sentences for that offence run concurrently with the rioting sentences, resulting in a total term of 34 months’ imprisonment. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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