Justice Is Colour Blind Regarding Face Masks: Judge

A District Court judge said on Wednesday that he had ordered people wearing yellow masks out of his courtroom not because of the colour, but because the masks had a political slogan on them.

Ernest Lin had caused a stir on Monday when he told three people, one of them a defence lawyer, to leave the courtroom during a hearing relating to the 2019 protests.

One of the trio sent out told reporters the masks have the letters F.D.N.O.L. on them, which may well refer to a popular anti-government protest slogan that the authorities have suggested is illegal.

Before the hearing began on Wednesday, the judge's secretary made a similar request, asking people in the public gallery to remove the yellow masks or leave the courtroom.

Lin then explained that the court should not be a place for people to express political views, and he doesn't want it to become a site for political struggles or disputes.

He stressed that the court doesn't consider people's political stances, and they will be treated the same no matter what colour face masks they are wearing.

The judge added that he wasn't passing a value judgement on the colour or design of face masks, and nobody would be denied entry to the courts because of their political background.

Lin then went on to sentence four men to up to 20 months in prison, after they pleaded guilty to unlawful assembly and assault in relation to violent clashes between rival groups of protesters at Amoy Gardens in Kowloon Bay in September 2019.

The judge also doubled down on his criticism of the media, saying people wearing press vests had blocked the way of two of those injured in the clashes, causing a "misunderstanding".

He said press freedom is an important part of a civilised society and professional journalists would not violate the law, but in this case, they had indeed made things difficult for those hurt.

On Monday, the Journalists' Association complained about Lin's remark that

"people wearing reflective vests" at the scene of the clashes could have been "part of a riot".

Meanwhile, activist Raphael Wong was seen wearing a mask with F.D.N.O.L. on it as he appeared in Eastern Court on Wednesday along with seven other defendants in another protest-related case.

Wong was not ordered to remove the mask.