A Hong Kong court sentenced activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung to 13-and-a-half months in jail on Wednesday for organizing and inciting an unlawful assembly to besiege the police headquarters in June last year.
Wong’s co-defendant Agnes Chow Ting was sentenced to 10 months in prison for inciting and participating in the same protest. A third defendant, Ivan Lam Long-yin, was imprisoned for seven months for one offense of incitement.
The trio were sent to prison straight after the sentencing.
On passing down the sentence, Magistrate Wong Sze-lai of Western Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts said that immediate imprisonment is “the only appropriate sentencing option”.
The court’s decision, which is also an open condemnation and a deterrent, should make it clear to the public that unlawful activities are not allowed to disrupt public order, the judge said.
On June 21, 2019, the trio incited more than 400 protesters gathering in Admiralty to march toward the police headquarters in Wan Chai. As many as 9,000 people surrounded the headquarters at one stage, causing 61 emergency calls from residents to go unanswered and six police officers were trapped in a police van for three hours.
During the large-scale unlawful assembly that lasted 15 hours, Wong had actively taken the lead role and coordinated the protesters’ demands with Chow’s assistance, the judge noted, as she adopted a higher starting point for the sentence.
Wong’s appeal to besiege the police headquarters aimed to challenge the authority of the police, who are the backbone for maintaining social order and security, the judge added.
The judge said that the trio were “selfish” to commit illegal actions that caused a huge impact. They have breached public order, threatened personal safety, congested traffic, wasted police resources, damaged public property, and hindered public service, she added.
Outside the court, a small group of local residents, who held homemade banners condemning the trio for causing chaos in Hong Kong, opened a bottle of champagne and cheered when Wong was sentenced.
The Department of Justice issued a statement on Wednesday night saying those who demanded the trio’s immediate release not only disrespected Hong Kong’s judicial system but also showed their denial of the fact that the defendants themselves pleaded guilty.
“It is unbecoming and irrational for people making sweeping attacks and baseless accusations against our judicial and legal systems without reference to the fact and circumstances of the case. Such statements, if made with a view to exert undue influence on our judicial and legal systems, will be futile,” the statement read.
The three were all key members of localist party Demosisto. The party was disbanded following their resignations, hours before the promulgation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong on June 30.
Wong also faces charges of participating in unauthorized assemblies on Oct 5, 2019, and June 4, 2020. The cases were adjourned until mid-December and February 2021, respectively.
Chow was arrested in August on suspicion of breaching the National Security Law before being released on bail. So far, she has not been prosecuted.
