A Hong Kong court has recently convicted four individuals for their involvement in the riots that took place during the storming of the city’s legislative council building in 2019. This incident marked a significant escalation of the pro-democracy protests that were ongoing at the time. The rioting occurred on July 1, 2019, following a large-scale protest march against a proposed extradition bill, which aimed to allow authorities to send individuals to mainland China for trial.
During the riots, hundreds of protesters managed to forcibly enter the legislative council building, where they proceeded to tear down portraits of officials and spray-paint slogans demanding the release of arrested demonstrators. They even draped an old colonial-era flag over the speaker’s chair and covered a plaque with the symbol of Hong Kong using spray paint.
After a trial at the District Court, Judge Li Chi-ho declared Ho Chun-yin, actor Gregory Wong, Ng Chi-yung, and Lam Kam-kwan guilty of rioting. However, student journalist Wong Ka-ho and Passion Times reporter Ma Kai-chung, who were also on trial, were acquitted of the rioting charges but found guilty of unlawful entry.
During the trial, Gregory Wong stated that he had entered the building with the sole intention of delivering chargers to reporters who were covering the incident. Video evidence presented by the prosecution showed that Wong left the chamber immediately after providing the chargers to a reporter in a yellow vest. On the other hand, Lam Kam-kwan claimed to have been detained in China a month after the storming of the legislative council building and forced to write a repentance letter. However, these allegations were denied by police officers during cross-examination by the defense.
In May last year, seven other individuals, including the former president of the University of Hong Kong’s student union, Althea Suen, and pro-democracy activists Ventus Lau and Owen Chow, pleaded guilty to rioting. They are scheduled to deliver their mitigation statements later on Thursday and could face a maximum prison sentence of seven years.
Although the government eventually withdrew the extradition bill following the protests, which saw over a million people taking to the streets, the demonstrations had already gained momentum. The demands
