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The judgment stated that on the night of 1 August 2019, the police stopped and searched four defendants at two industrial buildings in Sha Tin and seized a large quantity of items, including 24 walking sticks, 10 baseball bats, protective equipment, two-way radios, and materials for making petrol bombs and smoke bombs. The defendants faced charges of “possession of offensive weapons in a public place”, “possession of an article with intent to destroy or damage property”, and “possession of explosives”. Except for the charge relating to radio communication equipment, all four defendants pleaded guilty to the remaining charges.
Under Section 33 of the Public Order Ordinance and Sections 55 and 62 of the Crimes Ordinance, the maximum penalty for “possession of offensive weapons” is three years’ imprisonment; for “possession of explosives”, up to 14 years (seven years in the District Court); and for “possession of an article with intent to damage property”, up to seven years. A guilty plea may result in a one-third reduction of the sentence.
The court found that the defendants had stockpiled large quantities of offensive weapons, protective gear, and incendiary materials, clearly to provide weapons and fuel to radical protesters. In view of the social unrest in 2019, the circumstances were serious and required both punitive and deterrent measures. Different sentencing starting points were set for each charge based on the facts of the case, with appropriate aggravation where justified.
The judge noted that the two industrial buildings were like an arsenal. Although there were pro-independence remarks, no sentence enhancement was considered before the National Security Law was enacted; these remarks were treated only as part of the background. Moreover, the weapons were not just for personal use but were clearly supplied to others for use in riots, seriously disrupting public order.
Following their guilty pleas, the four defendants received a one-third reduction in sentence: the first defendant will serve a total of 28 months’ imprisonment; the second defendant 16 months of immediate imprisonment; the third defendant a total of 38 months’ imprisonment; and the fourth defendant 16 months of immediate imprisonment. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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