判刑理由書撮要(由AI生成)
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The judgment states that on 12 November 2019 in Central, the defendants, together with over a thousand protesters, occupied the streets, damaged traffic facilities, set fires, erected roadblocks and confronted the police. After the police fired tear gas, they arrested protesters near an emergency exit. Video footage shows the defendants wearing masks or face coverings, and the fifth defendant also carrying lighters, hex keys, wrenches, spray paint and screw tools. The defendants were subsequently convicted of rioting and of using face coverings during an unlawful assembly; the fourth defendant was additionally convicted of unlicensed possession of radio equipment, and the fifth defendant was additionally convicted of possessing items intended to destroy property.
For rioting, the starting point is four years’ imprisonment, with reference to factors such as scale, number of participants and degree of damage; for using face coverings in an unlawful assembly, the starting point is six weeks’ imprisonment; for possession of items intended to destroy property, the starting point is three months’ imprisonment; for unlicensed possession of radio equipment, the penalty is a fine of HK$1,500.
In this case, the riot was large in scale, involved over a thousand people and lasted more than three hours, causing severe damage to public order and facilities; however, none of the defendants organised or directly engaged in violence, all had no prior convictions, they pleaded guilty and have been remanded for over three years, and their risk of reoffending is low, allowing for discretionary mitigation of sentence.
The judge considered that although the defendants did not plan or lead the riot, they contributed to its escalation and encouraged destruction, and must be dealt with firmly to uphold the rule of law; however, given their pleas for mercy and absence of prior convictions, a moderate reduction from the established starting points is appropriate.
Each defendant was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for rioting and six weeks’ imprisonment for using face coverings in an unlawful assembly, to be served concurrently; the fourth defendant was additionally fined HK$1,500 for unlicensed possession of radio equipment; the fifth defendant was further sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for possession of items intended to destroy property, one month of which is to be served consecutively to the preceding sentences, bringing the total sentence to four years and one month; the seventh defendant was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment solely for the rioting offence. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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