13 Jan 2025法庭線#4423
721白衣人案｜3男認暴動等罪、涉揮拳擲物等 1被告稱欲調停 至今12白衣人罪成
Four more white-clad men were charged with rioting and other offences in connection with the Yuen Long 7.21 attack four years after the incident. One had earlier pleaded guilty and been sentenced to imprisonment, while the remaining three pleaded guilty at the District Court on Monday (13th). They were remanded until 23 January for sentencing. A total of 12 white-clad men have now been convicted. The case alleged that the three defendants had punched people, gathered on a platform, thrown objects, and carried rattan sticks into and out of train carriages and swung them at people inside the gates, among other acts.
After the three men were convicted, the prosecution disclosed that they had all reported having no triad background, but had between three and nine previous conviction records, including possession of dangerous drugs, criminal intimidation and criminal damage. In mitigation, the defence said the defendants had been trying to separate two groups on the platform and mediate between the two sides to calm the conflict. It stressed that the defendants were followers, rather than leaders or organisers.
Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching at one point raised concerns, saying: “If I say the seriousness of this case is that it was premeditated—how else would they all happen to be wearing white, happen to have rattan sticks, while other people also happened to have rattan sticks, and he happened to be wearing gloves?” The defence replied that it understood and made no further submissions.
元朗 7.21 襲擊，事隔 4 年後再多 4 名白衣人被落案起訴暴動等罪，其中一人早前認罪已判囚，餘下 3 人周一（13 日）在區院認罪，還押至 1 月 23 日判刑。至今共 12 名白衣人罪成。案情指，3 名被告分別被指曾揮拳襲擊、在月台聚集、擲物、手持藤條進出車廂及揮向閘內人等。
控方在 3 人被裁定罪成後透露，他們均報稱沒三合會背景，但涉及 3 至 9 項定罪紀錄，包括管有危險藥物、刑事恐嚇、刑事毀壞等。辯方求情時提及，被告在月台是想分隔兩班人，欲調停雙方、平息衝突；強調被告的角色為「追隨者」，並非主導者、指揮者。
法官謝沈智慧一度關注，稱「如果我話呢件案嚴重之處係早有預謀，會咁啱著晒白衫，咁啱攞藤條，其他人又攞藤條，咁啱佢又戴手套去？」辯方回應稱明白，沒有陳詞。
12 Dec 2024法庭線#4354
721林卓廷等7人被裁定暴動罪成 官指林煽風點火、抽油水 罪成非白衣人增至8人
More than five years after the Yuen Long 7.21 incident, seven people who were not dressed in white, including Lam Cheuk-ting, were convicted on Thursday (the 12th) by District Court Judge Chan Kwong-chi of participating in a riot in the concourse of Yuen Long Station. The number of non-white-shirted people convicted has risen to eight, while nine white-shirted people have been convicted (see below). After the verdict, Lam continued serving his sentence in the 47-person case, while the other six were remanded immediately. They waved goodbye to people in the public gallery, and Lam also waved with a smile. Some family members wept after the hearing and wiped away their tears with tissues. Several people waved as the prison van left the court. The case was adjourned to January next year for mitigation, with sentencing scheduled for February.
In summarising his judgment, the judge said he considered that the riot among people inside the gates had not been planned in advance before 7.21. The contingent nature of the incident was that a group of people, including Lam Cheuk-ting, went separately to Yuen Long Station to confront the white-shirted people and gather evidence; the confrontation, verbal exchanges and clashes between the two sides made the outbreak of a riot inevitable.
All seven defendants gave evidence in court, which the judge rejected one by one. He said Lam’s Facebook posts would draw people to Yuen Long and also played up the involvement of triad societies. He said Lam’s calls inside the gates not to retreat amounted to fanning the flames, while allowing an assistant to livestream was “clearly motivated by the intention of ‘siphoning off political gains’”. As for the other six, the judge did not accept at all that throwing objects and spraying water were intended to stop the white-shirted people, saying the defendants were rationalising their actions and were participants in the riot.
元朗 721 事件至今逾 5 年，林卓廷等 7 名非白衣人周四（12 日）被區院法官陳廣池裁定參與元朗站大堂暴動罪成，令罪成非白衣人增至 8 人，罪成白衣人則為 9 人（見文末）。裁決後，林續就 47 人案服刑，其餘 6 人即時還押，他們向旁聽人士揮手道別，林亦笑著揮手。有家屬散庭後痛哭，以紙巾拭淚，囚車離開法院時，數人揮手。案件押至明年 1 月求情，2 月判刑。
法官在判詞總結指，認為閘內人士的暴動並不是一早在 721 之前預計籌劃出來，事件的偶然性是林卓廷在內的一群人，分別到元朗站抗衡白衣人兼蒐證，因雙方對峙、對駡及衝擊而使到暴動必然發生。
7 名被告均有出庭出供，官逐一反駁，指林在 FB 發帖會引人入元朗，亦渲染有黑社會介入，他閘內籲不要退後等是煽風點火，而讓助手直播是「明顯地是有『抽政治油水』的念頭」。至於其餘 6 人，官全不信納擲物、射水等是為了阻止白衣人，指被告自圓其說，是暴動的參與者。
26 Nov 2024法庭線#4297
721案男子英龍圍暴動等罪成 官裁屬主要參與的白衣人 着辯方解釋打人原因
More than five years after the July 21 attack in Yuen Long, eight white-shirted men have so far been convicted and sentenced to between three and a half and seven years in prison. Tang Ka-man, 43, was accused of being one of the white-shirted men. He denied charges of rioting and wounding with intent, but was convicted of both charges after trial on Tuesday (26th) at the District Court, which had moved to the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts. He is the ninth white-shirted man to be convicted and was remanded in custody until December 23 for sentencing.
Acting Judge CHAN Wai-mun compared Immigration Department record photographs, photographs taken by police and footage in the case, saying the defendant had deliberately changed his appearance when appearing in court but confirming that he was the man in the footage. The judge said the defendant had thrown a traffic light and wooden sticks, and pointed a rattan cane at the black-shirted people. His presence was not merely encouraging, but made him a major participant. The judge also ruled that the white-shirted men had reached an agreement to use rattan canes and wooden sticks to injure the black-shirted people, and that the defendant, as one of the white-shirted men, was one of the parties to the agreement.
The judge asked how many people had been injured during the period in question, saying: “Some white-shirted people used rattan canes and sticks to hit the black-shirted people—did anyone report it to the police?” The prosecution said, “We have no such record.” The judge responded: “That’s strange. Even though they were injured, they didn’t go to the police?” The judge also instructed the defence to explain during mitigation “why the white-shirted people hit the black-shirted people.”
元朗 7.21 襲擊逾五年，至今 8 名白衣人罪成，判囚 3 年半至 7 年。43 歲男子鄧嘉民被指為白衣人，他否認暴動、有意圖而傷人兩罪，經審訊後周二（26 日）在區院（移師西九龍裁判法院）被裁定全部罪成，為至今第九名罪成的白衣人，須還押至 12 月 23 日判刑。
暫委法官陳慧敏比對入境處紀錄照片、警方拍攝的照片及本案片段，指被告出庭時故意改外型，但肯定他是片中男子。而被告曾扔交通燈、木棍，並用藤條指向黑衣人，其存在不只鼓勵，亦為主要參與者。官另裁定白衣人達協議用藤條、木棍打傷黑衣人，而被告是白衣人亦是協議的其中一員。
官關注涉案時段有多少人受傷，問「有啲白衫人用藤條、棍打黑衣人，有冇人報警？」控方稱，「我哋冇呢個紀錄。」官聞言稱，「咁奇怪，佢哋受傷都唔去報警？」官另着辯方求情時交代「點解啲白衫人會打黑衫人」。
15 Oct 2024法庭線#4139
721白衣人案 王志榮罪脫發還重新考慮明年一月再訊 申請離港遭官拒絕
In the first riot case involving white-clad men in the Yuen Long 7.21 attack, seven people were convicted and one was acquitted. The Court of Appeal remitted the case involving the acquitted Zhirong Wang for reconsideration by the trial court. The case was mentioned at the District Court on Tuesday (15th). The defence said that, after discussions with the prosecution, it had applied to adjourn the case to 22 January 2025 for a mention before District Court Judge Eddie Chor Man Yip, with two days of hearings also reserved for late February of the same year.
Defence barrister Kwan Tong-lai also asked to allow Wong to retrieve his Home Return Permit and leave Hong Kong. After hearing submissions, Judge Chung Ping Pang rejected the application. Wong remains subject to his existing bail conditions and is not allowed to leave Hong Kong.
元朗 7.21 襲擊首宗白衣人暴動案，7 人罪成，1 人罪脫。獲裁無罪的王志榮，上訴庭發還原審重新考慮，案件周二（15 日）在區院提訊。辯方稱與控方商討後申請將案押後至 2025 年 1 月 22 日，於原審區院法官葉佐文席前提訊，另預留同年 2 月底兩天聆訊。
辯方大律師關唐利另提出，望容許王取回回鄉證，並准他離港。法官彭中屏聽取陳詞後，拒絕其申請，王維持原有保釋條件，不得離港。
5 Oct 2024法庭線#4121
上訴庭首宗721白衣人案 指在元朗站「共同意向團伙襲擊」 在英龍圍「放開地打」
The closing submissions have been completed in two cases involving white-clad and non-white-clad defendants over the Yuen Long 7.21 attack, with judgments expected this year. The Court of Appeal has also completed its hearing of the appeal in the first 7.21 case, involving five defendants alleged to be white-clad men. The Court of Law and Human Rights reviewed the judgment and summarised the findings of the three judges on the scenes of the clashes.
In dismissing the appeals of three white-clad men, the judges analysed the situation at Yuen Long Station and said Tang Ying-pan acted together with the white-clad men, “strongly pointing to a group attack with a common intention”. At Ying Lung Wai, the judgment said Ng Wai-nam and other white-clad men shoved with black-clad men. Although the black-clad men retaliated, the white-clad men subsequently “let loose and beat, let loose and assault the black-clad men”, and crossed the road to become the side that provoked the incident.
The Court of Appeal also excerpted the lower court’s judgment, which said several people at the Ying Lung Wai scene had both “the intention and actual acts of jointly disrupting public peace”. In response to the reporter’s enquiry about whether further investigations would be conducted, the police said they were studying the judgment with the Department of Justice and would continue gathering evidence from different angles to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth investigation.
元朗 721 襲擊事件，兩宗白衣人及非白衣人案完成結案陳詞，預定在今年內裁決。上訴庭今年亦完成審理首宗 721 案上訴，涉及 5 名被指為白衣人的被告，《法庭線》翻閱判詞，整理 3 名法官對於衝突現場的裁斷。
在駁回 3 名白衣人的上訴時，法官分析元朗站情況指鄧英斌與白衣人一起行動，「強烈指向一個有共同意向的團伙襲擊事件」；在英龍圍則指吳偉南等白衣人與黑衣人推撞，黑衣人雖有還手，但白衣人之後「放開地打、放開地向黑衣人施襲」，並越過馬路成為挑事的一方。
上訴庭亦節錄原審判詞，指出英龍圍現場有數人亦具「共同破壞社會安寧的意圖和實際行動」。記者向警方查詢會否進一步調查，警回覆指正與律政司研究判詞，並會繼續循不同方面搜證，作出全面及深入的調查。
19 Sept 2024法庭線#4062
721非白衣人案｜控方結案：林卓廷入元朗直播「刷流量」 抹黑白衣人為黑社會
Former Legislative Council member Lam Cheuk-ting and six other “non-white-shirted” defendants, who are charged with participating in the riot at Yuen Long Station on 21 July, appeared at the District Court on Thursday (19th) for the 50th day of the trial, as the prosecution and defence began their closing submissions. The prosecution said the explanation given by first defendant Lam Cheuk-ting was unreasonable and not credible. It said Lam entered Yuen Long not to perform his public duties, but to “abuse his position to achieve private ends”, and livestreamed in order to “drive traffic” and gain public approval.
The prosecution further said Lam made three posts on Facebook that night, which “in substance implied or expressly indicated that members of the public should go to Yuen Long to cause trouble”. It said one of the causes of the riot was “attributable to the first defendant instigating and participating in it”. It also said Lam smeared the white-shirted men as triad members, failed to mediate between the people inside the gate, and relied on his status as a lawmaker to act as a “leader”, repeatedly provoking and attacking the white-shirted men. The proceedings continued in the afternoon, when the defence was to begin its submissions.
前立法會議員林卓廷與另外 6 名「非白衣人」，被控參與 721 元朗站暴動，周四（19 日）在區院展開第 50 日審訊，控辯開始作結案陳詞。控方指首被告林卓廷的辯解不合理、不可信；指林入元朗非履行公職，而是「濫用職權達到私人目的」，開直播「刷流量」以獲市民認同。
控方續指林當晚 3 次於 FB 發帖，「實則暗示、明示市民入元朗生事」，指暴動其中一個起因是「歸咎於第一被告發動同參與」；又指林抹黑白衣人為黑社會，未有調停閘內人，更恃議員身分作為「領導者」，不斷對白衣人挑釁、攻擊。案件下午續，辯方將開始陳詞。
28 Aug 2024法庭線#3964
元朗721白衣人暴動案上訴 蔡立基上訴得直撤罪 罪脫王志榮發還重新考慮
In the first case involving white-clad men in the Yuen Long 7.21 attack, seven people were convicted and one was acquitted. Four of those convicted appealed. On Wednesday (the 28th), Court of Appeal judges Pang Wai-cheong, Poon Man-ki and Pang Po-kam handed down their decision, allowing Alex Lap Kee Choi’s appeal and quashing the convictions for rioting and assault with intent to injure. Leave to appeal for the other three was refused, and their convictions and sentences were upheld.
The Department of Justice also appealed by way of case stated against the acquittal of Zhirong Wang. The Court of Appeal allowed the Department’s appeal and remitted the decision to the trial District Court judge, Eddie Chor Man Yip, for reconsideration. Zhirong Wang is due to appear in the District Court on 15 October and was allowed bail on the existing conditions in the meantime.
The Court of Appeal said the trial court had overstepped the boundaries by asking Alex Lap Kee Choi to perform actions and bare his teeth in court, thereby requiring him to assist the prosecution in establishing its case. After excluding the courtroom actions, there was “considerable difficulty” in determining whether police photographs and footage of the incident could establish that Alex Lap Kee Choi was the offender. Although the Court of Appeal was certain, after comparing them, that the two images showed the same person, it said that “identification of a person is ultimately subjective” and that no inevitable conclusion could be reached. It therefore found Alex Lap Kee Choi not guilty.
It is understood that Ng Wai-nam, Tang Ying-pan and Alex Lap Kee Choi, who were convicted at trial, have been released and did not attend court. Tang Wai-sam, who is still serving his sentence, is expected to be released as early as February 2026. Zhirong Wang did not respond to reporters’ questions, made a waving gesture and left the High Court.
元朗 7.21 襲擊首宗白衣人案，7 人罪成，1 人罪脫。罪成其中 4 人提出上訴，上訴庭法官彭偉昌、潘敏琦、彭寶琴周三（28 日）頒下裁決，裁定被告蔡立基上訴得直，撤銷暴動及有意圖傷人的定罪。其餘 3 人上訴許可則遭駁回，維持定罪及刑期。
律政司另就脫罪被告王志榮，以案件呈述方式上訴。上訴庭裁定律政司得直，發還原審區院法官葉佐文重新考慮裁決，10 月 15 日將於區院提訊，期間王准以原有條件保釋。
上訴庭指出，原審要求蔡立基在庭上做動作及露齒笑，屬越界要求他協助控方舉證；剔除庭上動作後，對於是否可憑警方照片及事發影像肯定蔡是犯案人「不無糾結」，雖然上訴庭比對兩者肯定是同一人，但指「人物辨認始終是主觀」，無法論斷必然結論，裁定蔡立基罪脫。
據了解，原審罪成的吳偉南、鄧英斌、蔡立基已獲釋，他們未有到庭。至於仍在服刑的鄧懷琛，料最早在 2026 年 2 月獲釋。王志榮則沒有回應記者問題，作擺手手勢後離開高院。
20 Jul 2024法庭線#3833
721襲擊五年｜過去一年沒新拘捕或檢控 至今非白衣1人罪成 白衣人9罪成、1罪脫
As the Yuen Long 7.21 attack reaches its fifth anniversary, police made no new arrests and the Department of Justice brought no new prosecutions in the past year. In response to an inquiry, police said 69 people had been arrested to date, with 22 charged with rioting and other offences—figures unchanged from July last year.
One 7.21 case concluded during the year. It was the first in which a non-white-clad person was found guilty of rioting. The judge rejected the defendant’s testimony that he had acted in self-defence and to protect others, saying that “the black-clad side used violence to counter violence, contrary to reason and law”, but considered that the levels of violence on the two sides differed and that their criminal liability was therefore different. On the white-clad side, one more person pleaded guilty, while cases involving five others entered the appeal stage.
Across the six court cases to date (see the table in the article), four involved white-clad people, with nine people convicted and one acquitted. Two involved non-white-clad people, with one person convicted. Another case involving seven people, including Lam Cheuk-ting, is still being heard, with closing submissions scheduled for September.
元朗 721 襲擊踏入五周年，最近一年警方沒有作出新拘捕，律政司亦沒有提出新檢控。警方回覆查詢時指，至今拘捕 69 人，有 22 人被控暴動等罪，數字與去年 7 月相同。
這一年有一宗 721 案件審結，該案是首次有非白衣人被裁定暴動罪成，法官拒納被告供稱出於自衛、保護他人，又指「黑衣人一方以暴易暴，違理違法」，但認為雙方暴力程度有別，刑責不同。至於白衣人一方，再多一人認罪，另有 5 人的案件進入上訴階段。
綜合至今 6 宗法庭案件（見內文表），白衣人案佔 4 宗，共 9 人罪成，一人罪脫。非白衣人案佔兩宗，一人罪成，而包括林卓廷等 7 人的另案仍在審理，將於 9 月進行結案陳詞。
17 Apr 2024法庭線#3372
7.21元朗｜第9名白衣人暴動等罪成、42歲男認罪囚55月 官指帶頭指揮
Four more white-shirted men were charged with rioting and other offences four years after the 7.21 Yuen Long attack. One of them had earlier pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 55 months in prison at the District Court on Thursday (18th). He was the ninth white-shirted man to be convicted and was reported to have no triad background.
In sentencing, acting judge Daniel Siu Hung Tang said the defendant had fully participated in the rioting and assaults throughout the entire “7.21 white-shirted men” incident. The judge said he had provoked, threatened and assaulted people in black and members of the public in the train compartments, and had also waved for other white-shirted men to enter the paid area of Yuen Long Station, saying that he had led and directed them.
For the charges of rioting and conspiracy to wound, the judge adopted seven years as the starting point for sentencing on each charge. The defendant received a one-third reduction for pleading guilty. A further one-month reduction was given for his volunteer work, resulting in a sentence of four years and seven months in prison.
元朗 7.21 襲擊 ，事隔 4 年後再多 4 名白衣人被落案起訴暴動等罪，其中一人早前認罪，周四（18 日）在區域法院被判囚 55 月。他是第九名白衣人罪成，報稱沒三合會背景。
暫委法官鄧少雄判刑時指，被告完整參與整個「7.21 白衣人」事件的暴動和傷人過程，又指他曾挑釁、威嚇、襲擊黑衣人和車廂上市民，亦曾招手著其他白衣人進入元朗站付費區，指他帶頭指揮。
就暴動及串謀傷人罪，法官各以 7 年為量刑起點，被告認罪獲 3 分 1 刑期扣減。另被告曾做義工，再扣減 1 個月，終判囚 4 年 7 個月。
27 Mar 2024法庭線#3260
7.21非白衣人案｜第三被告折返元朗站見警到場 官：有咩感覺？覺唔覺得遲咗嚟？
Former Legislative Council member Lam Cheuk-ting and six other “non-white-shirted people” are charged with taking part in the riot at Yuen Long Station on 21 July. The trial entered its 38th day at the District Court on Wednesday (27th). The third defendant, Jason Wing Hei Chan, returned to the station after leaving, and police arrived at the scene. Judge Chan Kwong-chi asked: “How did you feel when you saw the police arrive… Did you think they came late?” Chan replied: “I felt that a little.”
During prosecution cross-examination, Chan was challenged that he had remained inside the gate and had “turned a blind eye” to the conduct of those inside, and that after spraying water he handed the hose to someone else, thereby “dividing the work with those inside the gate and tacitly carrying out provocative acts.”
Chan asked what “turned a blind eye” and “dividing the work” meant. He later said he felt he had no influence to stop them and understood that those inside the gate “wanted to defend themselves”, but said he would not engage in such conduct. He also said: “I did not cooperate with anyone in any form, nor do I agree that spraying water was a provocative act.” The trial continues on Thursday.
前立法會議員林卓廷與另外 6 名「非白衣人」，被控參與 721 元朗站暴動，周三（27 日）在區院展開第 38 天審訊。第三被告陳永晞，離開元朗站後折返，當時有警員到場。法官陳廣池問「見到警察到場有咩感覺…覺唔覺得佢哋遲咗嚟？」陳稱，「有少少覺得。」
控方盤問時質疑，陳一直在閘內，對閘內人的行為「視若無睹」，而他在射水後將水喉交給他人，是「同閘內人士分工合作，有默契做挑釁行為」。
陳反問「視若無睹」及「分工合作」意思，其後指覺得沒影響力制止，並理解閘內人「想防衛自己」，但自己不會做相關行為。他又指，「冇同任何人有作出任何形式合作，亦都唔同意射水係挑釁行為」。案件周四續。
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
