Hong Kong court convicts accountant of rioting at Yuen Long MTR station in 2019, first verdict for person not linked to white-clad mob
- Judge Clement Lee convicts Jacky Ho of one count of rioting, saying he claimed to be acting in self-defence when in fact he teamed up with others to fight white-clad mob
- Verdict is first for person unaffiliated with stick-wielding group, which entered Yuen Long MTR station to attack black-clad protesters returning from demonstration
District Court Judge Clement Lee Hing-nin on Friday convicted Jacky Ho Tsan-kei, 43, of one count of rioting, saying he had claimed his actions were in self-defence and a bid to prevent crime when in fact Ho teamed up with black-clad protesters to fight the white-shirted group at the railway station.
“He is no different from the white-shirted individuals. He is one of the rioters who participated in a crime,” Lee said.
Ho was remanded in custody, with a mitigation hearing set for Wednesday next week.
Rioting is punishable by up to seven years in jail at the District Court.
The verdict is the first to be handed down in a case for a person unaffiliated with the white-clad group involved in the mob attack, viewed as a tipping point of that year’s anti-government protests.
Ho was seen throwing objects at the white-shirted group, as well as opening an umbrella to shield himself and some people dressed in black – the colour favoured by anti-government protesters – in the station and on the nearby Long Wo Road at around midnight.
Lee dismissed Ho’s claims that he appeared at the station out of “being curious”.
Hong Kong ex-opposition lawmaker has case to answer over Yuen Long mob violence
“If it is for curiosity, why would a normal, mentally mature, highly educated individual continue to follow the same group of protesters into the core area of a riot, pausing, wandering and engaging in physical confrontations with the opposing group?” Lee said.
The judge also did not accept Ho’s claims he was simply acting in self-defence and in a bid to prevent criminal activity, asking the defendant why he turned a blind eye to violence on behalf of black-clad individuals around him and did not try to stop them or urge them to leave, if those were his motives.
“The defendant clearly showed intent to participate in the riot and actually carried this out,” Lee said.
He added the black-clad protesters should not have illegally gathered inside the station and proceeded to confront villagers in Yuen Long, despite the white-shirted mob attacking passengers inside trains.
“Once the black-clad people responded with violence, any reason became unreasonable, and twisted logic emerged that resulted in a cycle of escalating violence, disregarding both reason and legality,” he said.
The District Court is also hearing another case in connection with the mob attack, which involves former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting and six others – Yu Ka-ho, Jason Chan Wing-hei, Yip Kam-sing, Kwong Ho-lam, Wan Chung-ming and Marco Yeung Long.
The seven, also not part of the white-clad group, have been charged with one joint count of rioting.
