A Hong Kong man has been sentenced to four years and seven months in jail over rioting and wounding others during the Yuen Long mob attack at the height of the 2019 protests and unrest.
Tang Siu-hung, a 42-year-old driver, was prosecuted last July along with three others, four years after an incident on the night of July 21, 2019, when dozens of men wearing white shirts attacked commuters in Yuen Long MTR station after protests on Hong Kong Island. Tang pleaded guilty to rioting and conspiracy to wound with intent.
During sentencing on Thursday, district court judge Daniel Tang said that the defendant had been among those rioting throughout the events of that night, including provoking, threatening, chasing and attacking some people wearing black – a colour often worn by protesters – and train passengers, local media outlets reported.
The judge added that Tang Siu-hung had gestured to other people wearing white, calling them to enter the MTR station, meaning he had played a role in leading the rioting, The Witness reported.
“The reckless and rampant collective vigilantism caused great panic among the public, and the court must impose deterrent sentences on the perpetrators of violence,” the judge said in Cantonese.
On July 21, 2019, over 100 rod-wielding men stormed Yuen Long MTR station leaving 45 people injured – including journalists, protesters, commuters and pro-democracy lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting. Police were criticised for responding slowly to the incident, with some officers seen leaving the scene or interacting with the white-clad men. The official account of the incident evolved over a year, with the authorities eventually claiming it was a “gang fight.”
The attacks were seen as a turning point in the 2019 protests and unrest, with police accused of delaying their response and siding with the people in white.
Apart from Tang Siu-hung, eight others who were among those wearing white that night have been jailed over their involvement in the Yuen Long mob attack, with sentences ranging between three years and six months and seven years in jail.
First sentence for someone not wearing white
Additionally, eight men who were not wearing white that night have been charged with rioting.
Jacky Ho, a 43-year-old accountant, was found guilty of rioting and sentenced to two years and nine months in jail in early April, marking the marking the first sentence for someone not involved in the attack on train passengers and protesters that night.
Judge Clement Lee said before sentencing that more responsibility lay with the “white-clad” group than the “non-white clad” during the mob attack, adding that the “white-clad” group had shown a higher degree of violence and that their involvement was premeditated, Ming Pao reported.
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