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。
According to the judgment, from 11 November 2019, riots and unlawful acts broke out on and around the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus. At around 08:00 the following morning, a large group of protesters advanced from Science Museum Plaza towards the police mobile unit’s defensive line along Science Museum Road East in Tsim Sha Tsui, forming an umbrella formation and chanting slogans in defiance of multiple police warnings. The police then used force to disperse the crowd and arrested a total of 135 protesters. After five defendants admitted to assembling at or near Science Museum Plaza to disrupt order and intimidate others, they were convicted of unlawful assembly.
According to the sentencing principles established by the Court of Appeal in the Joshua Wong case, which focus on punishment and deterrence, consideration must be given to the planning of the assembly, its duration, the premeditation of protest equipment and its impact on the normal functioning of society and Hong Kong’s international image, establishing a starting point of 24 months’ imprisonment.
The five defendants carried various protective items and tools suspected to be used for vandalism, resisted police law enforcement and disturbed public order. As first-time offenders who pleaded guilty, the court reduced their sentences, although one defendant received only a 25% reduction for not pleading guilty immediately; taking into account the defendants’ youth, family and background circumstances, the seventh defendant was given a probation centre order in lieu of immediate imprisonment.
In my view, the protesters’ actions were irrational, using violence or coercion to express discontent, directly challenging the government’s role in maintaining public tranquillity and undermining Hong Kong’s years of effort. They must be severely punished in accordance with the law to serve as a deterrent; at the same time, the necessity and legitimacy of the police in maintaining public order are affirmed.
Among the defendants, the third and fourth defendants were each sentenced to 16 months’ immediate imprisonment, the seventh defendant received a probation centre order in lieu of immediate imprisonment, the eighth defendant was sentenced to 18 months’ immediate imprisonment, and the ninth defendant was sentenced to 14 months’ immediate imprisonment. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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