A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting and six other men to jail terms ranging from 25 to 37 months for rioting after they were attacked by a pro-Beijing mob in the summer of 2019 as pro-democracy protests raged.
On the night of July 21, 2019, more than 100 white-shirted men stormed the Yuen Long train station, attacking passersby and journalists with clubs and sticks. Around a dozen attackers were eventually jailed for rioting and conspiring to wound with intent.
But in a twist that stoked public outrage, Lam and six others who had tried to defend the public that night were also arrested and charged with rioting.
The incident left at least 45 people injured, including Lam, who suffered head and arm wounds requiring approximately 18 stitches.
In handing down a 37-month sentence for Lam, District Court judge Stanley Chan noted he had not engaged in violent acts, but his presence as a prominent democrat and his live streaming of the attack had inflamed the situation and created a “magnet effect,” drawing more people to the scene.
Lam, who is already serving a nearly seven-year jail term for a separate subversion charge under the Beijing-imposed national security law, will serve 34 months of his rioting sentence after that term finishes, resulting in a total prison term of 9 years and 7 months.
Six other defendants, Yu Ka Ho, Jason Chan, Yip Kam Sing, Kwong Ho Lam, Wan Chung Ming, and Marco Yeung, were sentenced to between 25 and 31 months. Many of these men, who had no previous criminal record and had tried forming a defensive line against the attackers, sought mitigation on the grounds of self defense.
But Chan said they had engaged in “riotous behaviour” including throwing water bottles and spraying water from fire hoses that had escalated tensions.
Lam, dressed in a black suit, listened with his arms folded, while some relatives and supporters sobbed and hugged one another in the public stands.
“I fully understand that what I thought was ‘right’ in the past has become ‘wrong’ today. It has even become a crime, and has imprisoned me till now, with no hope of freedom,” Lam wrote earlier in his mitigation letter.
In 2019, the movement opposing the extradition law amendment, which would have allowed the extradition of Hong Kong residents to mainland China, led to mass pro-democracy protests.
In 2020, China imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong. Since then, authorities have arrested scores of activists, shut down liberal civil society groups and media outlets, and overhauled elections to disenfranchise and marginalize the opposition.
