判刑理由書撮要(由AI生成)
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The judgment states that the Defendant pleaded guilty to a single charge of riot under the Public Order Ordinance after joining a large protest that began in Tsim Sha Tsui on 2 November 2019 and later moved to Mong Kok. Around 2 am on 3 November, the Defendant, masked and acting “for fun,” arrived at the junction of Nathan Road and Argyle Street, where metal railings, road signs and rubbish were used as barricades to block traffic. The Defendant was observed adding garbage to a fire on Nathan Road and, shortly thereafter, accelerating a second fire outside exit C1 of the Mong Kok MTR station by placing Styrofoam boxes and wooden pallets on it, causing approximately HKD 10,400 in damage. Arrested on 31 December 2019, the Defendant cooperated fully, admitted the facts, and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
The judge applied the appellate guidance that riot sentencing must maintain rule of law and public order, emphasize punishment and deterrence through immediate custodial sentences, and treat the offender’s rationale as non-mitigating. The gravamen of riot lies in participants acting en masse with violence. Relevant factors include whether the riot was spontaneous or planned, number of participants, degree of violence and weapons use, scale and duration of disturbance, harm to persons and property, imminence and gravity of threat, public nuisance, community impact, public cost, offender’s role and any additional offences.
The judge identified aggravating factors, notably the use of fire to damage public property during a significant civil disturbance in late 2019. Mitigating factors included that the Defendant did not originate the fires, played no leadership role, used no weapons, targeted property rather than persons, arrived late when numbers were reduced, was only 19 at the time, had a clear record, displayed genuine remorse, cooperated fully with police, pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, and offered full restitution of HKD 10,400.
Considering the need for general deterrence amid heightened civil disorder, the judge deemed a training centre order inappropriate. A starting point of 63 months’ imprisonment was set for the riot offence, reduced by one-third for the early guilty plea and by a further three months for restitution and cooperation, yielding an effective custodial term of 39 months.
The Defendant was sentenced to 39 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay compensation of HKD 10,400, to be satisfied from bail with any balance returned.
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