Hong Kong student jailed 51 months over chaotic protest against auntie singers
A 21-year-old student has been jailed for more than four years in Hong Kong over rioting and possessing an offensive weapon in a violent clash with police two years ago that stemmed from a protest against controversial performers in a park.
Lee Ho Ming was given 51 months in prison on Friday (May 29) for his “active” role in the incident on September 21, 2019, when protesters marched to complain about the noise and risqué behaviour of a group of middle-aged women from mainland China – derisively known as dama , or ‘big mamas’ – who sang and danced at Tuen Mun Park for tips.
Though the case was a District Court-level prosecution, it was held at the larger West Kowloon Court due to space issues.
The Tuen Mun march had been approved by authorities, but the situation descended into chaos after the initial rally ended, with some 250 protesters erecting roadblocks and paralysing traffic in the heart of the northwestern residential town. Some also hurled petrol bombs and hard objects at police.
The prosecution alleged that during a 30-minute stand-off at 4pm that day, Lee – armed with a shield and walking stick – helped other protesters dig up bricks from the pavement to use against police, and pulled out a fire hose for others to spray officers with water.
The defence denied the allegations, saying the perpetrator seen in video evidence was not their client.
However, they failed to convince deputy judge Lily Wong Sze Lai, who accepted the conclusion of a policewoman who spent over 120 hours reviewing the relevant footage. Wong found Lee guilty of rioting and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.
Defence lawyer Kevin Tang Tsz Kai urged the court to consider his client’s suitability for a lighter sentence of correctional training in a detention centre, rather than prison.
But Wong snubbed that submission, saying Lee had defied law and order, and that violence against police must be condemned.
“It is obvious the defendant came with a purpose,” Wong said. “He was fully armed when he took the field. He went on standby and was ready for battle.”
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She also refused to knock any time off of Lee’s jail term, saying his good character did not constitute a mitigating factor in the face of the “very serious” charges.
In a separate case, a 15-year-old girl who was found guilty of taking part in an unlawful assembly outside a police station during 2019’s anti-government protests was spared detention in a correctional facility and placed on a two-year probation order instead.
The Form Two pupil was found to have shone laser lights at police officers outside Mong Kok Police Station on the night of Sept 24, 2019, when people gathered to condemn a controversial police operation at Prince Edward MTR station the month before.
Magistrate Amy Chan Wai Mun emphasised on Friday that her decision not to detain the defendant was based on the fact that the girl had been suffering from depression since her father died two months prior to her offence.
Chan ordered the girl to obey a curfew between the hours of 7pm and 6.30am every day, receive psychiatric treatment and take part in educational activities as instructed by her probation officer.
This article was first published in South China Morning Post.
