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The judgment states that at approximately 4pm on 29 September 2019, around 500 protesters gathered outside the Government Headquarters in Admiralty, occupied the eastbound and westbound lanes of Harcourt Road, threw objects and petrol bombs at the Government Headquarters, set fires and damaged water-filled barriers. Despite the police issuing yellow, blue and black flag warnings on multiple occasions, the protesters continued rioting. The police then suddenly charged out from several exits of the Government Headquarters to disperse the crowd, and arrested eleven defendants on the eastbound and westbound lanes of Harcourt Road. The defence only questioned the defendants’ positions and conduct, whereas the prosecution, relying on CCTV footage and police testimony, established that the defendants had all participated.
Under section 19 of the Public Order Ordinance, the offence of riot carries a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment.
The defendants all wore protective equipment and carried placards or tools in advance, were present within the riot zone, were aware of the repeated warnings but did not leave, and their actions aligned with the objective of disrupting public order; although they had no prior convictions and were of good character, the serious nature of the riot warrants punishment and deterrence.
Modern unlawful assemblies and riots are highly fluid and should not be rigidly confined to specific locations; the defendants were not innocent bystanders but participants who aided or encouraged the crowd’s rioting, and the police testimony was credible and sufficient to support conviction.
The court convicted the eleven defendants of the offence of riot and will fix a date to pass sentence. (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 the afternoon of 29 September 2019, at around 4:00 PM, approximately 500 protesters gathered outside the Government Headquarters in Admiralty, occupying both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Harcourt Road. They threw miscellaneous objects and petrol bombs at the Government Headquarters, set fires, and damaged the water-filled barriers used for protection. Despite multiple warnings from the police, the protesters continued for over twenty minutes. Later, the police suddenly charged out from each exit, dispersed the crowd, and arrested 11 defendants at the scene. After trial, all were convicted of rioting under section 19 of the Public Order Ordinance (Cap. 245).
According to the Public Order Ordinance, rioting generally carries a starting point of four to five years’ imprisonment, subject to adjustment based on factors such as the participant’s role in the riot, the degree of violence used, duration, scale, and social impact.
In this case, the riot was sudden but large in scale, involved the use of petrol bombs and arson targeting the Government Headquarters, posing a high degree of threat and destruction that required deterrence; however, none of the defendants were organisers or leaders, there was no serious bodily harm, they were first-time offenders and showed remorse. Mitigating factors included their youth, stable studies or employment, good character, and community support, warranting leniency.
I consider that the defendants were only part of the riotous group assisting and encouraging the disturbance, not core participants. Given their good backgrounds and guilty pleas, it is appropriate to moderately lower the sentencing starting point, balancing punishment with the opportunity for rehabilitation.
Except for two defendants aged only 16 and 18 who were sent to a training centre, the remaining nine defendants were each sentenced to three and a half years’ imprisonment. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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