Social Worker Jailed One Year For Obstructing Police

A social worker has been given a one year prison sentence for obstructing police during an unauthorized demonstration in Yuen Long last July.

Fanling Court magistrate Don So ruled that Lau Ka-tung of the Reclaiming Social Work Movement had blocked one police officer who was part of a team trying to disperse hundreds of protesters on that day.

Although Lau was unarmed, the magistrate said he had been acting in concert with several other social workers, and managed to obstruct the entire police formation from moving forward for several minutes.

He was deemed to have messed up their deployment by ending up inside their formation.

So added that the defendant had ignored police warnings to back off, and his request for officers to slow down their advance towards the protesters was tantamount to asking them to neglect their duties.

The dispersal operation, the magistrate added, was “legal, reasonable, and proportionate”, and injuries that result from clashes were unavoidable.

So said he decided on a one-year prison sentence after considering that the maximum penalty for the offence is two-and-a-half years.

The magistrate also rejected Lau’s application to be freed on bail pending an appeal.

Responding to the sentencing, Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung said the harsh decision would create a 'chilling effect' on social workers.

Cheung – who said he was at the protest scene that day – said Lau was simply trying to deescalate the situation.

He said Lau didn’t use any violence but was pushed down by the police despite showing his social worker identity card.

Cheung said social workers have a role in moderating the situation at protests, and said the sentence is clearly out of proportion, when compared to to other cases where defendants used violence against others.