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The judgment states that on 31 August 2019, between approximately 6pm and 8pm in rainy conditions, protesters on Hennessy Road and Luya Road on Hong Kong Island successively erected barricades using miscellaneous objects, set them alight and threw petrol bombs, triggering a riot. The police formed two lines to advance and disperse them, and arrested eight defendants opposite Southorn Stadium and on Mathew Street. The defendants were originally charged with unlawful assembly but were later charged with rioting; the fourth defendant was additionally charged with possession of an offensive weapon. All defendants pleaded not guilty. The prosecution relied on video footage and police testimony, while the defence questioned the credibility of witnesses and the lack of direct evidence of participation.
According to Section 19 (rioting) and Section 33 (possession of an offensive weapon) of the Public Order Ordinance, the prosecution must prove the defendants’ involvement in the rioting and the fact of weapon possession beyond reasonable doubt.
Given that the prosecution failed to provide evidence of the defendants’ actual rioting before arrest, that police testimony in many respects did not match the video footage or police notes, and that indirect evidence such as clothing and location at the scene was insufficient to eliminate reasonable doubt, there was not enough basis for conviction.
The judge held that the prosecution’s argument was insufficient, and it could not be established that the defendants had acted together to disrupt public order; he therefore expressed reservations about the officers’ testimony and identification evidence.
After trial and analysis of the evidence, the court determined that the prosecution had failed to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt, ruled that the rioting charges against the eight defendants and the weapons possession charge against the fourth defendant were not established, dismissed all the charges, and declared the defendants not guilty. (Translated from Chinese to English by AI)
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