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 the defendants, on the evening of 18 November 2019, responded to an online call and took part in riotous actions around Nathan Road in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon. They were intercepted by the police before the cordon was established, and one defendant was found in possession of an offensive weapon (a laser pointer) in a public place. After trial, some defendants pleaded not guilty while the others pleaded guilty; the court found that the defendants intended to participate jointly in a riot to support, encourage or assist others in disturbing social peace, and accordingly convicted them of riot and weapon possession.
Under section 19(1) and (2) of the Public Order Ordinance, the offence of riot carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, or up to 7 years in the District Court; the 12 sentencing considerations listed in the Leung Tin Kei case are cited, including the degree of planning, scale, level of violence, and harm to public order and safety, among others.
Considering that the incident was premeditated, involved over 2,000 participants, and entailed serious violence and destruction, the starting point for sentencing was set at 63 months; 2 months were deducted for saving trial resources; D3, D5 and D6 received further reductions for guilty pleas and their youth, with D5 and D6 receiving a total 15-month reduction (approximately 23.8% discount) and D3 a further 1-month reduction; as none of the defendants led or directly used violence, sentencing was based on the extent of supportive participation; for possession of an offensive weapon, an additional 5 months was imposed, of which 2 months were ordered to run concurrently with the main sentence.
The judge reiterated that, in a rule-of-law society like Hong Kong, public order and the safety of law enforcement officers must be upheld; riot offences require punitive and deterrent penalties to demonstrate a strong response and prevent recurrence, and emphasised that sentencing should be based on the gravamen of the offence and core sentencing factors, rather than solely on reference to individual precedents.
Defendant 1 was sentenced to a total of 63 months’ imprisonment (5 years 3 months) for riot and possession of an offensive weapon; Defendant 2 was sentenced to 61 months’ imprisonment (5 years 1 month) for riot; Defendant 3 was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment (5 years) for riot; Defendant 4 was sentenced to 61 months’ imprisonment (5 years 1 month) for riot; Defendant 5 was sentenced to 47 months’ imprisonment (3 years 11 months) for riot; Defendant 6 was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment (4 years) for riot. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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