Dutch Man Jailed For Arson During February Protest

Kowloon City Court on Monday sentenced a citizen of the Netherlands and a shop manager to four months in jail after they pleaded guilty to arson during an anti-government protest on February 29.

The court heard that the pair threw paper into a burning rubbish bin during a protest to mark the police storming of Prince Edward MTR Station six months before.

Magistrate Leung Ka-kie said there was a need to hand down a deterrent sentence for such a serious crime.

But she took into account their guilty pleas when setting the prison terms of four months.

The lawyer for the 31-year-old Dutch tourist had told the court that his client was in Hong Kong as a visitor at the time of his arrest and was planning to get a visa to work as a kindergarten teacher.