判決理由書／裁決書撮要(由AI生成)
以下撮要以AI生成及／或翻譯，內容以原來的判決理由書／裁決書為準。
The judgment pointed out that since November 2019, large-scale riots broke out at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where protesters trapped on campus confronted the police and caused damage. From the evening of 17 November, the police sealed off the campus and surrounding roads to carry out arrests. During this period, several defendants in the Ho Man Tin and Hung Hom areas transported bamboo branches, coiled ropes or placed vehicles at drainage outlets, and used mobile phone groups to publish escape routes, intending to assist protesters in bypassing police lines and evading arrest, offences amounting to the common law crimes of perverting the course of justice and rioting.
For the offence of perverting the course of justice, with reference to Court of Appeal precedents, one should consider the intrinsic seriousness of the principal offence, the offender’s degree of persistence and the impact on the administration of justice, using 12 months’ imprisonment as the standard term and increasing it; for the offence of rioting, being a grave offence, the Court of Appeal’s established starting point of 4 years and 6 months’ imprisonment is to be used.
The court considered that although the defendants were not the masterminds and there was no elaborate planning, their collaboration with others to assist rioting protesters in evading arrest constituted an aggravating factor; in view of it being a single incident, lacking continuity, their guilty pleas, and delays in prosecuting some charges, appropriate sentence reductions were granted in each case.
The judge emphasised that Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law and that unwarranted and serious violent conduct must be met with deterrent sentences in order to uphold public order and ensure the safety of law enforcement officers, beyond question.
The defendants were ultimately sentenced as follows: the first, second and fourth to eighth defendants, convicted of perverting the course of justice, received terms of imprisonment ranging from 7 to 14 months (the first defendant 7 months; the second defendant 13 months; the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh defendants each 12 months; the eighth defendant 9 months); the third defendant, convicted of participating in a riot, was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months’ imprisonment. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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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 states that, since 17 November 2019, protesters at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University were surrounded by the police and engaged in fierce clashes with the defensive line, resulting in injuries to officers and damage to facilities. Some protesters attempted to escape via underground sewers and coordinated pick-up vehicles around Hung Hom and Ho Man Tin through WhatsApp groups. The eight defendants were present respectively at Oi Man Estate, Cheung Tung Road South and the Hung Hom sewer outlet, where they were responsible for parking vehicles, carrying ropes, directing routes and actually assisting protesters to climb out of the sewer outlet, thereby perverting the course of justice. Defendant Three was additionally charged with rioting.
The District Court applies a starting point of 12 months’ imprisonment for perverting the course of justice under common law, with an additional 2 months for joint criminal enterprise; the maximum penalty for rioting is 10 years, with a sentencing starting point of 4 years and 6 months’ imprisonment determined by reference to relevant case law.
The court took into account in a holistic manner the nature, duration and substantive impact on judicial operations of the defendants’ actions in assisting or intending to assist rioters in evading arrest, finding that the conduct in this case was singular and lacked a complex plan but involved group coordination, which are aggravating factors; as to the rioting offence, it weighed the scale of the protest, the degree of violence, and the threat posed to the safety of law enforcement officers and public order.
The judge emphasised that a society governed by the rule of law cannot tolerate indiscriminate violence and acts that obstruct justice, and that deterrent sentences are required; he also made appropriate reductions or adjustments based on factors such as the defendants’ guilty pleas, assistance to investigations before trial, and delays in prosecution.
Finally, after considering sentence reductions for guilty pleas and personal circumstances, the bench imposed: Defendant One (perverting the course of justice) 7 months’ imprisonment; Defendant Two same offence 13 months’ imprisonment; Defendant Three (rioting) 3 years and 8 months’ imprisonment; Defendants Four, Six and Seven (perverting the course of justice) each 12 months’ imprisonment; Defendant Five 10 months’ imprisonment; and Defendant Eight 9 months’ imprisonment. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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