22 Jul 2022獨媒#2254
Man in his 70s dies after being hit by brick; two young men convicted of rioting, sentencing adjourned to Aug 12
2019年11月13日「大三罷」，北區大會堂外有兩批人士疑因路障問題爭執，期間一名七旬清潔工遭磚頭擊中頭部，翌日不治。經高院審訊後，陪審團上周裁定兩名青年誤殺和蓄意傷人罪不成立，但暴動罪成。法官杜麗冰今早（22日）聽過辯方求情後，表示需了解兩名被告的背景，故先下令索取兩人的背景報告，押後至8月12日判刑，期間被告續還柙。
During the “three strikes” action on Nov 13, 2019, two groups of people reportedly argued over road barricades outside North District Town Hall. A cleaner in his 70s was hit in the head by a brick and died the following day. After a High Court trial, a jury last week found two young men not guilty of manslaughter and wounding with intent, but guilty of rioting. After hearing mitigation submissions from the defence this morning (the 22nd), Judge Do Lai-bing said she needed to learn more about the defendants’ backgrounds. She therefore ordered background reports to be prepared and adjourned sentencing to Aug 12. The defendants were remanded in custody in the meantime.
21 Jul 2022獨媒#2244
Following Successful Appeal in Zip-Tie Case, DOJ Prosecutes Under More Serious Charge
兩名被告另涉藏有索帶，原被控「管有適合作非法用途的工具罪」，但由於終審法院在早前的上訴案件中，裁定索帶不屬此控罪涵蓋範圍，因此律政司決定改控「管有物品意圖摧毀或損壞財產」。此罪的最高刑罰為監禁10年，比起原本控罪最高監禁2年，更為嚴重。本案為首宗律政司因應終院案例而改控的案件。
Two defendants were also accused of possessing zip ties. They were originally charged with the offence of possessing an instrument fit for an unlawful purpose, but after the Court of Final Appeal ruled in an earlier appeal case that zip ties did not fall within the scope of this offence, the Department of Justice decided to charge them instead with possessing an article with intent to destroy or damage property. The maximum penalty for this offence is 10 years’ imprisonment, making it more serious than the original offence, which carries a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment. This is the first case in which the Department of Justice has changed the charge in response to a Court of Final Appeal judgment.
19 Jul 2022獨媒#2238
Three men charged with inciting grievous bodily harm over WhatsApp calls to kill police; trial set for September
3名男子涉於2019年10月，在 WhatsApp 群組籲殺害或傷害警員及其家屬，事隔兩年半被起訴兩項煽惑他人有意圖而導致有人身體受嚴重傷害罪，今（19日）在區域法院提訊。3人擬不認罪，法官將案排期至9月4日開審，期間各人繼續保釋。
Three men allegedly urged the killing or harming of police officers and their family members in a WhatsApp group in October 2019. Two and a half years later, they were charged with two counts of inciting others, with intent, to cause grievous bodily harm, and appeared at the District Court today (19th). The three intend to plead not guilty. The judge scheduled the trial for September 4, and they were continued on bail.
19 Jul 2022獨媒#2239
Tang Fei Seeks Exemption from Penalty for Failing to Upload Election Advertisements as Required Last Year
選委界立法會議員、教聯會副主席鄧飛昨日入稟高等法院，指在去年年底參選立法會選舉時，未有按選舉管理委員會規定，將選舉廣告及相關資料上載至中央平台供查閱，他希望法庭接納，因粗心大意或意外地計算錯誤，申請豁免受相關刑罰，和不作訟費命令。
Tang Fei, a Legislative Council Election Committee constituency member and vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, filed an application with the High Court yesterday. He said that when he stood in last year’s Legislative Council election at the end of the year, he had failed to upload election advertisements and related information to the central platform for public inspection as required by the Electoral Affairs Commission. He asked the court to accept that the failure was due to carelessness or an inadvertent miscalculation, and applied for exemption from the relevant penalty and for no order as to costs.
16 Jul 2022法庭線#2227
75 Charged over Possessing Zip Ties; 22 Convicted, Most Also Involved Other Items—Barrister Says Overturning Conviction Difficult
《法庭線》翻查法庭紀錄及新聞報道，由 2019 年 6 月起，共有 75 人涉及藏有索帶而被控，當中 22 人被裁罪成，而只有今次終極上訴的被告與另一人，控罪只涉索帶；其餘 20 人除索帶外，亦涉管有其他物品。
The Court Line reviewed court records and news reports and found that, since June 2019, 75 people had been charged in connection with possessing zip ties. Of them, 22 were convicted. Only the defendant in the current final appeal and one other person faced charges concerning zip ties alone; the remaining 20 were also involved in possessing other items.
16 Jul 2022獨媒#2231
Four men, including 12 Hong Kong people case defendant Liao ZiwenCheng Tsz-ho, plead guilty over petrol bombs and receive 27 to 38 months’ imprisonment
2019年10.1國慶前夕，警方在灣仔一單位搜出多個半製成汽油彈或鋁熱劑彈材料，共4人被捕，包括12港人案中的廖子文及鄭子豪，兩人涉潛逃在內地羈押及服刑數月，回港後還柙近一年半。4人於開審前承認管物品意圖摧毀財產罪，法官游德康今（16日）在區域法院判他們囚27至38個月。廖子文及鄭子豪昨承認妨礙司法公正罪判囚10個月，部分刑期與本案分期，每人的總刑期為31個月。游官特別強調，鄭子豪及廖子文因本案而潛逃，他們年少無知、誤信人言，天真以為可逃離法網；但事與願違，歷盡滄桑後返回原地。
On the eve of National Day on 1 October 2019, police found multiple partially made petrol bombs or materials for thermite bombs in a flat in Wan Chai. Four people were arrested, including Liao Ziwen and Cheng Tsz-ho from the 12 Hong Kong people case. The two fled to the mainland, where they were detained and imprisoned for several months, and were remanded in Hong Kong for nearly a year and a half after returning. The four admitted before trial to the offence of possessing articles with intent to destroy property. Judge Douglas Tak Hong Yau sentenced them to between 27 and 38 months’ imprisonment at the District Court today (16th). Liao Ziwen and Cheng Tsz-ho admitted yesterday to perverting the course of justice and were sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment; part of the sentence was ordered to run concurrently with their sentences in this case, bringing each person’s total sentence to 31 months. Judge Yau particularly stressed that Cheng Tsz-ho and Liao Ziwen fled because of this case, being young and inexperienced and naively believing what others told them that they could escape the law. However, things did not turn out as hoped, and after experiencing hardships, they returned to where they had started.
15 Jul 2022獨媒#2219
First Imprisonment Case for Possessing Zip Ties: Estate Agent Wins Final Appeal
2019年11月，地產經紀在示威場合附近被搜出48條索帶，審訊後被裁定《簡易治罪程序條例》第17條「管有攻擊性武器或適合作非法用途的工具」罪成，判囚5個半月，成為首宗管有索帶罪成判囚的案件。他就定罪和刑期提出上訴，皆遭高院上訴庭駁回。他續上訴至終審法院獲受理，經上月聆訊後，終審庭今（15日）裁定上訴得直。法官裁定涉案48條6英寸長的塑膠索帶不屬第17條的涵蓋範圍內，涉案索帶不是為束縛人身而製造，不屬束縛人身工具的類別；它亦不是攻擊性武器，也不是適合作非法進入的工具。因此，上訴人不應在第17條下被定罪。
In November 2019, an estate agent was found with 48 zip ties near a protest venue. Following trial, he was convicted under Section 17 of the Summary Offences Ordinance of “having possession of an offensive weapon or an instrument fit for an unlawful purpose” and sentenced to five and a half months’ imprisonment, becoming the first person convicted and jailed for possessing zip ties. His appeals against the conviction and sentence were both dismissed by the Court of Appeal. He then appealed to the Court of Final Appeal, which granted leave to appeal. After hearing the case last month, the Court of Final Appeal today (15th) allowed the appeal. The judges ruled that the 48 six-inch-long plastic zip ties did not fall within the scope of Section 17: they were not manufactured for restraining persons and did not belong to the category of instruments for restraining persons; nor were they offensive weapons or instruments suitable for unlawful entry. The appellant therefore should not have been convicted under Section 17.
15 Jul 2022獨媒#2223
34-year-old warehouse manager charged with intent to pervert course of justice over alleged assistance to Tsang Chi Kin and three others in fleeing; bail denied and remanded
4名涉反修例案件的青年，包括2019年荃灣中槍少年曾志健，涉因潛逃並沒有依期歸押，前日（13日）在北潭涌被捕。一名34歲倉庫管理員涉與協助潛逃的組織有關，提供食物及住宿予青年，同日遭警方拘捕。他今（15日）被押解往西九龍裁判法院提堂，主任裁判官羅德泉應控方申請，將案押後至9月9日，以待警方檢視被告的 PayMe 戶口、手機及電腦，以調查是否有其他主腦；亦會檢視住宅租約，調查誰人租用。被告申請保釋遭拒須還柙，他保留8天保釋覆核權，於7月22日再訊。
Four young people involved in anti-extradition bill cases, including Tsang Chi-kin, who was shot in Tsuen Wan in 2019, were arrested in Pak Tam Chung the day before yesterday (13 July) after allegedly absconding and failing to report back on the scheduled date. A 34-year-old warehouse manager suspected of being connected to an organisation assisting their escape, and of providing the young people with food and accommodation, was arrested by police the same day. He was brought to West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts today (15 July). At the prosecution’s request, Chief Magistrate Lo Tak-chuen adjourned the case until 9 September to allow police to examine the defendant’s PayMe account, mobile phone and computer to investigate whether there were other masterminds. Police will also examine the residential tenancy agreement to investigate who rented the property. The defendant’s bail application was refused and he was remanded in custody. He reserved his right to apply for a bail review within eight days and will appear again on 22 July.
15 Jul 2022法庭線#2224
Two, including Wong Man-huen, acquitted over alleged breach of two-person gathering limit while running street booth
前區議員黃文萱與前議助去年 2 月在沙田第一城擺街站時，連同「香港中學生關注組聯盟」 5 名學生遭票控違反二人「限聚令」。黃及其前議助否認控罪，經審訊後周五（ 15 日）在沙田裁判法院，被裁定罪名不成立。
Former district councillor Wong Man-huen and her former assistant were accused of violating the two-person gathering restriction when they set up a street booth in City One Shatin in February last year. They were ticketed along with five students from the Hong Kong Secondary School Students Concern Alliance. Wong and her former assistant denied the charges and were acquitted after trial at Shatin Magistrates’ Courts on Friday (15th).
15 Jul 2022獨媒#2225
Medical Student’s Unlawful Assembly Sentence Appeal Allowed, Term Reduced from 20 to 14 Months
【獨媒報導】2019年12月24日平安夜，有網民號召在元朗形點商場「和你sing」，在商場內叫喊口號。當時23歲的中大醫科生身穿印有「暴大抗爭」的上衣舉機拍攝，去年10月被裁定非法集結罪成，重囚1年8個月，保釋候上訴遭拒。他不服定罪及判刑上訴，今（15日）被高院駁回定罪上訴，但刑期上訴得直。法官陳仲衡表示，原審裁判官陳炳宙僅從上訴人一身裝束和用具便裁定他是「核心滋事分子」，又以案發時上衣字句認為2021年的他重犯機會高，是「過於武斷」；而平安夜不屬會增加非法集結嚴重性的日子，原審考慮沒有發生的「停業一天」對商戶造成的損失是沒有必要，刑期「明顯過重」，改判囚14個月。
【獨媒報導】On Christmas Eve, 24 December 2019, internet users called for a “Sing with You” event at YOHO Mall in Yuen Long, where participants shouted slogans inside the shopping centre. The 23-year-old CUHK medical student was filming with his phone while wearing a shirt bearing the words “Violent CUHK Protests”. He was convicted of unlawful assembly last October and sentenced to one year and eight months’ imprisonment; his application for bail pending appeal was refused. He appealed against both his conviction and sentence. Today (15th), the High Court dismissed his conviction appeal but allowed his sentence appeal. Judge Chan Chung-hang said the trial magistrate Kenneth Ping Chau Chan had ruled that the appellant was a “core troublemaker” based solely on his clothing and equipment, and had considered him highly likely to reoffend in 2021 because of the wording on his shirt at the time of the offence. This was “overly arbitrary”, the judge said. Christmas Eve was not a day that increased the seriousness of the unlawful assembly, and it was unnecessary for the trial court to consider the loss to merchants from a “one-day closure” that had not occurred. The sentence was “manifestly excessive” and was reduced to 14 months’ imprisonment.
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
