Judge Quizzes Prosecutors Over PolyU Case Evidence

Prosecutors in the trial of 15 people accused of rioting in connection with last year's Polytechnic University siege have been told to work on their case as a District Court judge raised questions about it.

The 15 defendants are accused of rioting at the intersection of Nathan and Waterloo roads near Yau Ma Tei on November 18, 2019.

They are among 213 people charged with rioting over the siege at the height of the anti-government protests. All those charged have been divided into 12 cases.

In a hearing on Wednesday, Chief District Court Judge Justin Ko told prosecutors to look at the basis of prosecuting the 15 defendants. He questioned the move to put them together as one case, even though they were arrested at different locations in Yau Ma Tei.

The prosecution replied that they were arrested in the same vicinity.

Ko also wanted the prosecution to clarify whether the 12-hour-long video clips they want to submit as evidence specifically target the accused.

Meanwhile, the judge pointed out that there was only one sentence in the prosecution’s documents that related to the 15.

The defendants were in court requesting an adjournment, saying they were not ready to enter pleas. Two of them said they still hadn't applied for legal aid.

The case has been adjourned to November 20. All 15 defendants had their bail extended.