Couple Cleared Of Provoking Ma On Shan Attack

A couple have been found not guilty of provoking an attack on a man in Man On Shan last year in which the victim was set on fire.

The couple were caught on camera just before the horrific incident, shouting and swearing at the man. Nobody's been arrested to date for setting the man on fire last November.

But police arrested and charged the couple over their altercation with the man just before the attack.

The victim had been expressing pro-Beijing views at a time when Hong Kong was being rocked by anti-government protests, and he got into an argument with several people on a footbridge near Ma On Shan MTR Station.

The couple were accused of disorderly behaviour with the intention of causing a breach of the peace, or in this case, inciting the attack on the man.

Eastern magistrate Arthur Lam said the couple had used unfriendly language to try to get the man to leave and they had been rowdy, but they never said or even hinted that they would hurt him.

Lam said he could not conclude that the couple's behaviour had led to the attack.

The victim had testified that he was very scared of being assaulted at the time.

But the magistrate rejected this, saying nobody had prevented the man from leaving the scene, and he had actually returned to continue the quarrel after briefly moving away at one point.

The man suffered serious burns to his face in the attack and spent months in hospital.