判刑理由書撮要(由AI生成)
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The judgment states that on 18 November 2019, the defendants responded to an online call and gathered with over a thousand protesters around Nathan Road in Yau Ma Tei. During the course of events, petrol bombs were thrown, arson was committed, and public property was damaged. While the police were setting up defences, six defendants were intercepted. Defendants 1 to 4 were each convicted of rioting; Defendant 1 was further convicted of possessing an offensive weapon, namely a laser pen; Defendants 5 and 6 pleaded guilty and were likewise convicted of rioting.
Under Section 19 of the Public Order Ordinance, the maximum penalty for rioting is 10 years’ imprisonment, and the District Court may impose up to 7 years; referring to the sentencing principles in the Leung Tin-kei case, factors such as the degree of premeditation, scale, violence and harm to public tranquillity must be considered, and the starting point for sentencing is set at 63 months’ imprisonment.
This case was on a large scale, involving around 2,000 people, using a large number of petrol bombs and posing a serious threat to the safety of police and citizens; the six defendants participated only by supporting and encouraging, with no evidence that they actually used force; allowing for deductions for evidence admitted in court, the guilty plea discounts for Defendants 5 and 6, and the ages of Defendants 3 and 5, a moderate reduction is applied.
In a society governed by the rule of law, public order and tranquillity must be maintained. Faced with serious violent acts against law enforcement personnel and society, a punitive and deterrent sentence must be imposed; individual circumstances must not weaken the deterrent effect of measures against rioting.
Defendants 1 and 2 each received 63 months’ imprisonment (61 months for rioting plus 2 months for the weapons offence to run concurrently); Defendant 3 was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment; Defendant 4 to 61 months; Defendant 5 to 47 months; and Defendant 6 to 48 months. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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