No Proof Chan Ho-tin Slapped Officer, Says Defence

Lawyers for the convenor of the now-banned Hong Kong National Party, Chan Ho-tin, told West Kowloon Court on Thursday that there was insufficient evidence to prove that he was the person who allegedly assaulted a police officer following a protest in Sheung Shui last year.

Chan has denied taking part in an unlawful assembly and assaulting an officer by hitting his helmet near Sheung Shui MTR Station on July 13, 2019.

Over a three-day trial, the court was shown three video clips showing a man wearing a black mask and glasses walking behind the officer before the officer's helmet was slapped.

Prosecutors said Chan was that man behind the officer, asking the court to judge for itself from his appearance and build.

The prosecution also rejected the defence's suggestion that the slapping was an accidental act during tense scenes, saying Chan must be found guilty if the court identifies him as the attacker.

But the defence noted that no prosecution witnesses had clearly identified Chan as the attacker, noting that the person seen in the video was wearing a face mask.

"If one can identify a person when his face is mostly covered by a face mask, then we wouldn't have needed the anti-mask law," the defence lawyer said.

The lawyer pointed out that an expert witness for the prosecution, who specialised in identifying human traits, refused to judge whether Chan was the alleged attacker.

The defence also referred to the expert's claim that Chan and the man in the video have a similar mole near their right ear, and said nobody would be able to determine the identity of a person from such a "dot".

The defence argued that even if the court agreed that Chan was the man in the video, the prosecution hasn't shown there was any hostile intent to harm the officer, and it could have been more like a prank.

They also urged the court to dismiss the testimony of the police officer involved, saying he might have exaggerated what happened.

The court reserved its judgement until December 28.