Prison Term Inevitable For Rioters, Says Court

A District Court judge has made clear that prison terms are inevitable for 10 people found guilty of rioting charges linked to the Mong Kok unrest in 2016, as he begun hearing mitigation from their lawyers.

The lawyer for one of the defendants, 19-year-old Mo Jia-tao, said his client took part in the violence because he was angry at the police’s use of force during the Occupy movement and had a false perception that policemen were bad people.

But after going through the trial, he now understands that while Hong Kong’s democratic development may be slow, that is not the fault of police officers, the lawyer said.

The lawyer for another defendant, Chung Chi-wah, urged the court to take into account the social and political background under which the riot took place, and whether it had caused any temporary or long-term damage to society.

Two other defendants said they only happened to be there and took part for fun.

The judge was to hear mitigation from the rest of the defendants before passing sentence.

The clashes during the Lunar New Year holiday of 2016 erupted after a dispute over the clearance of food vendors. A standoff that ensued led to pitched street battles that saw mobs attack police officers with bricks and sticks.