On June 13 2022, the trial resumed in the District Court for the eleven defendants who had been charged with “rioting” in Admiralty during the “global march against totalitarianism” held in Hong Kong on September 29, 2019. A total of 96 people had been charged on the day. When the police officer who was on duty testified that one of the defendants fought back while being subdued, the defence questioned his statement as it did not match what was shown in the video.
The defendant was Lam Cheuk-hin, 18, a student. He was accused of fleeing with others and fighting back when police officers tried to arrest them. The prosecution accused in its opening statement that all 11 defendants were wearing black attire, including Lam Cheuk-hin, who was accused by testifying Officer Lam Cheung of having a “pig’s mouth” gas mask around his neck and wearing a pair of gloves when he was arrested. This suggested they had participated in the riot.
Defence: Statements Do Not Match Video Evidence
Evidence A video of the incident was shown in court. When being questioned by the defence, Office Lam agreed that the defendant was not seen fighting back. However, when the defence said that the defendant, who was subdued on the ground, did not fight back, Lam did not agree. He requested to watch the video again, and the defence reminded him to ask to stop the video if he saw the defendant fighting back, but he never did.Defendants at Crime Scene But Not Seen Vandalizing
The 11 defendants, aged 17 to 26, were charged with one count of rioting. In their opening statements, the prosecution admitted that the all eleven defendants were not identified or photographed disrupting public order, but said some were dressed in black and some had gas masks, saline solution, American flags, swimming goggles and other items that “could not have been there by coincidence.” The prosecution said, “They were believed to have been involved in the organization and participated in the riot, or at least in the form of assistance and encouragement.”Multi-city Rallies in Support of Hong Kong Protesters
The Global March Against Totalitarianism on September 29, 2019 was initiated by netizens. On September 29, rallies were held in 24 countries and 65 cities around the world, including Sydney, Australia, San Diego, Canada, and in Taipei, Taiwan, in solidarity with the Hong Kong protesters.In Hong Kong, the march was to start at 3 pm starting at Hennessy Road outside SOGO department store in Causeway Bay, and ending at the government headquarters in Admiralty. At 12:00 noon, many riot police officers had started to patrol outside SOGO, and held black flags at the intersection, asking the public to disperse. But the crowds kept growing, and there was a confrontation between the police and the crowds. The police subsequently used tear gas and pepper spray, and a number of people were injured at the scene.
The police eventually fired several shots of tear gas before retreating. The march starting soon afterward. People chanted, “Five demands, none of which should be left unanswered,” as they moved along the route. On the way, someone took down the sign “National Day” on the flyover connecting Pacific Place to Admiralty.
After arriving at Admiralty at around 4 pm, the marchers moved on towards the government headquarters and occupied the adjacent Harcourt Road freeway. The police fired many tears gas rounds and rubber bullets from high up, and repeatedly tried to disperse the marchers with blue water from water cannon trucks.
Indonesian Journalist Shot in the Eye
Veby Mega Indah, a female reporter for Hong Kong’s free Indonesian newspaper Suara, was shot in the right eye by a police officer during a live broadcast in Wanchai on that day. At the time when she was shot, she was wearing a vest and a helmet with “PRESS” printed on it, and displayed a press pass, which clearly identified her as a journalist.Prosecution’s Motion for Joint Trial Dismissed
Of the 96 people charged with “rioting” in Admiralty, 44 were charged with “rioting” in Harcourt Road, and 52 were charged with “rioting” in Queensway, and the cases were split into multiple trials.The Harcourt Road “rioting” is divided into four cases, two of which have a total of 19 defendants. In March, four months prior to the trial, the prosecution applied for a joint trial, claiming that it could save court time and public money.
However, more than half of the defendants objected to the application, arguing that at that time, the trial preparation was at an advanced stage; that the lawyers had already established a relationship with the defendants; and that the new trial lawyers might not be able to attend the trial, which might result in the defendants needing to change lawyers within a short period of time. This, combined with the large amount of evidence involved in the trial, and the amount of time required for new legal representation to prepare for the case, it would not be fair to consolidate the cases and it would be to the detriment of the defendants.
The lawsuit was originally divided into four cases as a result of discussions between the prosecution and defence due to factors such as courtroom space, the complexity of trying a large number of defendants, and public health and safety. The District Court ultimately denied the prosecution’s motion to consolidate, considering that the change in trial date would affect the preparation of the parties and cause inconvenience to the defence.
The Queensway “rioting” is divided into five cases. All defendants were granted bail, and the trial dates for each case are in December 2022 to September 2023.
