判決理由書／裁決書撮要(由AI生成)
以下撮要以AI生成及／或翻譯，內容以原來的判決理由書／裁決書為準。
The judgment states that on 7 September 2019, a large number of protesters unlawfully gathered inside and outside the Sha Tin MTR station, confronting officers. The third defendant was pursued after shining a high-intensity torch at officers outside the station; during the chase he resisted and struggled with officers outside the station control room, while other protesters stormed the control room. The first defendant and the second defendant were identified as S1 and S2 respectively on CCTV footage, at which time they threw umbrellas and metal objects at officers and participated in assaulting officers and rioting. Furthermore, two harmful laser pens were seized from the third defendant’s backpack at the hospital. All three denied the charges and did not call any witnesses. After considering CCTV footage, witness testimony and physical evidence, the court found each of the charges proven.
Sentencing guidelines pursuant to Section 19 (rioting) and Section 36 (assaulting a police officer) of the Public Order Ordinance, the common law offence of resisting a public officer in the execution of duty, and Section 17 (possession of an offensive weapon) of the Summary Offences Ordinance.
The defendants’ conduct was of a serious nature, undermining public peace, openly provoking and assaulting on-duty officers; the third defendant’s unlawful possession of a potentially blinding laser pen posed a high degree of danger and must be met with severe punishment as a deterrent.
The judge considered the police testimony and CCTV footage to be consistently reliable and beyond the defendants’ ability to refute; a synthesis of the circumstantial evidence led to the sole reasonable inference that the defendants’ actions had severely disrupted public order and warranted a heavy sentence.
All three defendants were convicted on their respective charges, and the court will pronounce the sentences after a subsequent sentencing hearing. (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, between approximately 3:00 pm and 3:24 pm on 12 November 2019, around 100 people assembled illegally near Bridge Number 2 of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Individuals dressed in black and wearing masks erected roadblocks using umbrellas, rubbish bins and water-filled barriers, and advanced towards the police. During this period, they threw petrol bombs and bricks, causing a riot. The police dispersed the crowd and arrested four defendants. After the trial, the first defendant was acquitted of rioting but convicted of using a facial covering device. The third and fourth defendants were both convicted of rioting and of using a facial covering device.
The maximum penalty for rioting is 10 years’ imprisonment; the District Court may impose up to 7 years. Under the Prohibition on Face Coverings Regulation, the maximum penalty is one year’s imprisonment or a fine of HK$25,000. Sentencing guidelines from various similar cases refer to sentences ranging from 3 years and 9 months to 5 and a half years, adjusted according to the circumstances of each case and the roles of the defendants.
The size and duration of the riot, the number of participants, the use of weapons, the degree of harm to public order, and the conduct of the defendants at the scene were taken into account. As for the offence of using a facial covering device, widespread masking during the protest was intended to conceal identity and participate in violence, and thus deterrence is necessary. None of the defendants received credit for an early guilty plea following the trial, and their age and family background did not constitute significant mitigating factors.
The judge emphasised that the offence of rioting must be met with a deterrent sentence to uphold the rule of law and public safety, and that each case has its own context and cannot be treated identically. Young defendants must also bear the consequences of their actions, with the interests of society taking precedence over the rehabilitative needs of the offenders.
The first defendant was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment for using a facial covering device during the illegal assembly; the third defendant received a total sentence of four years and six months’ imprisonment for rioting and for using a facial covering device; the fourth defendant received a total sentence of three years and nine months’ imprisonment for rioting and for using a facial covering device. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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