Two Charged With Rioting Over Yuen Long Mob Attack

The first charges have been laid in relation to the indiscriminate attacks against protesters and commuters at the Yuen Long MTR station in June.

Two men, aged 48 and 54, have been charged with rioting and will make their first court appearances on Friday at Fanling court.

The duo are the first among the 28 people arrested following the July 21 attack to be formally charged with any offence. Most were arrested for illegal assembly.

It comes a day after anti-extradition bill protesters held a mass sit-in at the Yuen Long station to mark one month since the attack – with many complaining that no one had been charged up to that point.

A group of men wearing white-t-shirts had attacked people at the station with bamboo canes, metal rods and other weapons.

They appear to have targeted people wearing black clothes who they assumed were returning to Yuen Long after taking part in an anti-extradition bill protest held that day, but many ordinary passengers were also caught up in the violence.

At one point, attackers attacked passengers on board a train that was stopped at the station. In all, forty-five people were injured, with 28 needing hospital treatment.

Many local residents have complained that they had repeatedly called police during the attack without any response. Officers ultimately arrived at the scene almost 40 minutes after the attack.

Later accusations were made that some officers had seen and even talked to some of the white-shirted attackers but didn't arrest any.

On Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam revealed that nearly one-third of complaints that police received recently were related to the attack.