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The judgment states that on the evening of 18 November 2019, between approximately 8 pm and 11 pm, the defendant illegally assembled with over a hundred protesters in the Wuhu Street area of Hung Hom, threw petrol bombs and bricks, and used an umbrella formation to advance the police line. During the operation the police issued multiple warnings and deployed tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. By 11 pm the protesters had scattered, and the defendant lost his balance and fell while attempting to flee, whereupon he was arrested. He was found wearing protective gear; his backpack contained a bag of marbles and a bag of cable ties, and a trace of the flammable solvent toluene was detected on his sleeve. The defendant claimed he intended only to observe and did not know the purpose of the items in his backpack, but his testimony conflicted with the CCTV footage in many respects, and the court did not accept it.
According to section 19 of the Public Order Ordinance and section 17 of the Summary Offences Ordinance, the maximum penalty for rioting is ten years’ imprisonment; the maximum penalty for possession of an article for unlawful use is two years’ imprisonment.
The defendant was present at the riot scene, marching with the crowd, wearing protective gear and carrying tools that could be used to erect barricades and be thrown. His actions clearly exacerbated the violent confrontation and require severe punishment as a deterrent. Although he has no prior convictions, his subjective culpability is significant and the social harm is high.
The court held that the prosecution had dispelled any reasonable doubt: the defendant’s testimony was contradictory and inconsistent with the recorded footage, and his conduct clearly amounted to participation in a riot. He should be convicted and sentenced severely.
The defendant was convicted of rioting and of possession of an article for unlawful use, and was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in total. (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 evening of 18 November 2019, the defendant participated in a demonstration of over one hundred people in Hung Hom, threw petrol bombs and bricks at the police, and used an umbrella formation and strong lights to obstruct police duties. When the police advanced to disperse the crowd, the defendant fled, fell, and was arrested; protective gear, cable ties, glass marbles and toluene were found on him. Video footage showed he set up roadblocks at the scene and participated in the riot, and he was therefore convicted of riot and possession of articles fit for illegal use.
According to the Court of Appeal’s sentencing guidelines for riot, considerations include whether the act was premeditated, the number of participants, the weapons and level of violence used, the scale and duration of the incident, resulting damage or casualties, threat to and disturbance of the public, social impact, the offender’s role, and whether other offences were committed at the same time.
Over one hundred people were involved in the riot, throwing petrol bombs and setting up roadblocks, which lasted for over three hours, leading to a starting sentence of 4.5 years; in view of the defendant having no leadership role, causing no serious casualties, pleading guilty thus saving judicial resources, and having no prior convictions, the sentence was reduced to 3 years and 9 months; possession of cable ties and glass marbles to obstruct the police was fixed at 3 months, to run concurrently with the main sentence.
The judge considered that, although the defendant had no leadership role and caused no fatalities or injuries, his collective conduct was highly dangerous, and took into account his background and guilty plea in sentencing.
The defendant was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months’ imprisonment for the offence of riot, and 3 months’ imprisonment for the offence of possession of articles fit for illegal use, to be served concurrently, resulting in a total term of 3 years and 9 months’ imprisonment. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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