The storming of the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2019 was “unprecedented,” a Hong Kong prosecutor has argued after seven people sentenced for rioting in the complex appealed for lighter jail terms.
Protesters storm the legislative complex on July 1, 2019. File Photo: May James.Singer Gregory Wong and Althea Suen, a former head of the University of Hong Kong’s student union, along with five others, appeared at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday to seek permission to appeal.
The seven appellants were handed jail terms of up to six years and 10 months after being convicted of rioting in the LegCo complex on July 1, 2019, the anniversary of Hong Kong’s Handover to mainland China.
At the time, the city was engulfed in protests sparked by a controversial extradition bill.
Three of them, including Wong, pleaded not guilty and were convicted in February last year. The other four, including Suen, pleaded guilty in May 2023.
Of the seven, Lam Kan-kwan was handed the longest sentence of six years and 10 months, followed by Ng Chi-yung, who was jailed for six years and eight months. Wong was jailed for six years and two months, while Suen received four years and nine months.
Gregory Wong on May 29, 2023. Photo: Lea Mok/HKFP.All seven appealed for lighter jail terms, while Wong and Amy Pat also appealed their convictions.
In response to the appeals, prosecutor Anthony Chau said the sentencing should not be based solely on the defendants’ behaviour, but also on the impact of the riot and the “unprecedented” nature of the LegCo storming, according to court news outlet The Witness.
He said the fact that some of the defendants were only in the LegCo complex for a short period did not justify a shorter sentence.
‘Eye of the storm’A total of 12 people were convicted in the LegCo rioting case. Two people, both student reporters, were charged but found not guilty.
On Tuesday, the court first heard arguments from Wong and Pat, who were appealing their convictions.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (Special Duties) Anthony Chau outside the Court of Final Appeal on August 9, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Lawyer Edwin Choy said the riot began at around 1pm, but Wong, his client, only appeared at around 11pm. Videos showed Wong chatting and waving to others, and there was insufficient evidence to show that he had encouraged people to riot, Choy said.
The District Court judge who found Wong guilty had only said generally that he did not accept the singer’s testimony and had not rebutted the fact that Wong had gone to LegCo to give power banks to reporters, Choy added.
Pat, who did not have a lawyer, said she should have been charged with criminal damage – a less serious offence – instead of rioting.
In response, Chau said Wong had decided to enter the “eye of the storm” although a “red alert” had been issued at the LegCo complex, and he knew that protesters had stormed the premises.
Court of Appeal in the High Court. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Regarding Pat’s statement, the prosecutor said she had already pleaded guilty to rioting two years ago.
The court then heard arguments relating to the sentencing appeals. Suen’s lawyer David Ma said he disagreed with the District Court judge’s reasoning that the LegCo incident had sparked “riots” across the city, as this glossed over the reasons for the protests and unrest that year.
Ma added that Suen had only arrived at LegCo at around 11pm, by which time protesters were calm, and there were no clashes. He said Suen’s behaviour may have been rash, but it did not mean she supported the more radical acts that had happened earlier.
Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
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