Chan Pak-yeung, a Civic Passion member who had participated in the Mong Kok riot on Lunar New Year night, was sentenced to a nine-month jail term for assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest at Kowloon City Court yesterday, and was immediately taken away to be locked behind bars.

　　This case has attracted wide attention in the legal sector, among law enforcers and citizens.　　The reason lies in that the Mong Kok riot was a large scale violent incident rarely seen since Hong Kong's handover, in which rioters madly attacked police officers with bricks taken from side pavement and other objects, injuring several law enforcers.　　The incident posed a serious challenge to social order and the governance of the SAR Government.

　　Therefore, as the first court case relating to the Mong Kok riot, what punishment Chan Pak-yeung, the defendant, would be given - whether he would be jailed or just given some “softhearted" "community service order", it has attracted attention from various sectors.

　　Eventually, Chan Pak-yeung was found guilty on one count of "assaulting a police officer" and another of "resisting arrest", and sentenced to nine months in jail for assault and four months for resisting arrest - to be served concurrently, namely, to be jailed for nine months altogether.　　His application for bail was rejected and he was immediately taken away to be locked behind bars.

　　The significance of this ruling lies in that right after Chan Pak-yeung's case, at least another 34 defendants in Mong Kok riot-related cases will successively be tried in court or given verdicts starting from today, being charged with participating in riot, assaulting police, attempting to commit arson, causing criminal damage, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and/or causing disorder in public places, etc.　　Among them, Hong Kong Indigenous' Edward Leung Tin-kei and Ray Wong Toi-yeung, who deserve to be called as the "chief culprits" of the riot, both are charged with instigating and participating in riot.　　They are to have their cases heard in the High Court.

　　Whether and how the sentence of Chan Pak-yeung to nine-month imprisonment yesterday would affect the processing of the cases involving these 34 defendants, this should be left for the court to handle in accordance with the law.　　It is not proper for others to say anything right now, so as not to arouse suspicion perverting the course of justice.　　However, like "a straw in the wind", the immediately imprisonment of Chan Pak-yeung no doubt has a deterrent effect.

　　In fact, as magistrate So Wai-tak pointed out in court yesterday that the defendant had brought with him to Mong Kok equipment such as gloves and neck guard, and during the riot, thrown water bottles at an police officer maintaining order on the spot and struggled to violently resist arrest.　　Assaulting police was a serious offence, which "endangered the safety" of the police officers and affected police morale.　　Therefore penalties given to him should have adequate deterrent effects, as such crimes should not be tolerated.

　　Such words by magistrate So Wai-tak also make a very pertinent and important verdict on the 34 defendants who had participated in the Mong Kok riot and are waiting for their trials, not just on Chan Pak-yeung.　　On the Lunar New Year night, in what otherwise should be a happy time for everyone, trouble-makers stirred up a riot making use of the issue of unlicensed vendors.　　Rioters attacked police officers in extremely violent ways: several of them jointly beat an already injured police officer lying on the ground, and some others attempted to commit arson...　　For Hong Kong society which had always taken pride in its rule of law and good public order, the shocks and damages such acts had caused were beyond expression.　　For the SAR Government's governance in accordance with the law, the riot posed an extremely serious challenge.

　　The riot also aroused attention and concern from the Central Government.　　Chairman Zhang Dejiang of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), during his tour in Hong Kong in May, once mentioned the Mong Kok riot and pointed out that it should be seriously dealt with in accordance with the law.

　　The rule of law is one of Hong Kong society's most important core values.　　Law-breaking riots cannot be tolerated in a society with the rule of law.　　It is natural and right for Hong Kong people to keep close watch on court verdicts in Mong Kok riot-related cases and give their support to heavy punishments in accordance with the law.

07 October 2016