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In a leaderless movement...

(24 Aug) Two Hong Kong protestors, aged 17 and 21, were found guilty for obstructing police official administration and endangering the safety of others during the “Operation Dawn” protests on 11 November 2019. They were sentenced to prison for 8 months.

The intriguing verdict given by magistrate So Man-lung Don is problematic and attention-grabbing:

Don So said he was willing to give a light sentence if the 2 defendants were willing to disclose “the leader who masterminded the event”. However the defendants failed to do so. In addition how the 2 of them didn’t stop a 12 years old child from joining and committing the crime together was all the more serious. Without the arrival of police officers, the wooden sticks on the railway would endanger the traffic.
Don So considered 12 month imprisonment as a starting point, due to the 2 defendants pleading guilty, 8 months were sentenced instead.

Editor’s note: Magistrate Don So simply assumed there was a “leader who masterminded the event" but failed to provide any evidence. This idea led to the unfair judgment by assuming the 2 defendants were covering up for their “boss”, which contradicted his supposed fair standpoint.

Source: Telegram Channel "youarenotalonehk_live", HKLIG Forum Post
Translated by: Hong Kong Echo

#Student #Protesters #Basis #Prison #PoliceState #RuleOfLaw