判決理由書／裁決書撮要(由AI生成)
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The judgment states that from 17 November 2019, consecutive days of demonstrations at the Polytechnic University escalated into campus riots. The police surrounded the campus and urged the public to keep away. Responding to calls on Telegram and LIHKG, protesters diverted police resources around Yau Tsim Mong, with some individuals manufacturing, transporting and throwing petrol bombs along Observatory Road, Kimberly Street and Ho Fuk Street, and detonating petrol bombs loaded on trolleys in a back alley of Ho Fuk Street. In the early hours of 19 November, the police deployed tear gas, water cannons and conducted sweep operations, successively stopping and arresting five defendants at 5-6 and 7-7A Ho Fuk Street and Kut Tau Lane. All defendants pleaded not guilty.
Under section 19(2) of the Public Order Ordinance, participation in a riot is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment; sentencing must consider the equipment the defendant carried, their level of premeditation and the degree of threat posed to public order.
The defendant was at the core of the riot, equipped with a helmet, gas mask, gloves and materials for manufacturing and transporting petrol bombs, demonstrating participation in and encouragement of the riot, and posing a serious threat to police safety and public order.
Illegal assembly and riot are highly fluid in nature; an irresistible inference can be drawn from the cumulative effect of the contextual evidence. The defendants failed to provide any reasonable explanation, and the evidence indicates that each defendant at least intended to participate.
All five defendants were convicted and will be sentenced at a later date. (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 on 19 November 2019, protesters responded to an online call to draw police resources away by moving from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University area to Yau Tsim Mong, confronting police at locations including Chatham Road South and Kimberley Street. They repeatedly obstructed roads and hurled incendiary devices using debris and petrol bombs. Police dispersed them with tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets. Protesters then continued to manufacture and transport petrol bombs around Hou Fuk Street, causing an explosion. After a clearance operation, the police arrested five defendants at various locations and charged them with rioting under section 19 of the Public Order Ordinance (Chapter 245).
Under section 19 of Chapter 245 of the Public Order Ordinance, the maximum penalty for rioting is ten years’ imprisonment, with the District Court’s maximum being seven years; the Court of Appeal’s twelve listed sentencing factors for rioting were also taken into account, with an emphasis that sentences must be deterrent to maintain public order.
The defendants had beforehand carried helmets, masks and fireproof gloves, and manufactured and transported petrol bombs. They attempted to throw or detonate incendiary devices, collectively confronting police and disturbing the peace, constituting a premeditated and organised riot. The sentencing starting point was set at 45 to 52 months due to the involvement of petrol bombs and attempted assaults on police, with a four-month deduction each for no prior record and procedural efficiency, and the third defendant received an additional reduction for a guilty plea.
The court held that violence disrupting public order and attacks on law enforcement cannot be tolerated. Those involved must be severely punished to achieve the objectives of punishment and deterrence and to uphold the rule of law and public safety.
The bench sentences the five defendants to the following terms of imprisonment: 41 months for the first defendant, 48 months for the second, 37 months for the third, 41 months for the fourth and 48 months for the fifth, all to be served concurrently. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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