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2019 protester was ‘some distance’ from clashes, magistrate says
🇭🇰 Hong Kong /Culture & Society

2019 protester was ‘some distance’ from clashes, magistrate says

From Hong Kong Free Press · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • A protester charged over Hong Kong's 2019 unrest was arrested some distance from clashes, a magistrate said.
  • The defendant, who was 15 at the time of arrest and 21 when charged, faces charges of possessing an offensive weapon and items intended for property damage.
  • The verdict for the case, which involves laser pointers and spray paint, is due on August 12, with two co-defendants already acquitted.

A magistrate noted that a protester charged over Hong Kong's 2019 unrest was "some distance" from clashes when arrested. Ami Chan appeared at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts for the second day of her trial, nearly seven years after the incident.

That’s some distance away.

— Magistrate WongReferring to the distance between the defendant's arrest location and the site of police-and-protester clashes.

Chan was arrested in 2019 at age 15 and refused bail. She left for Australia in 2021 and was charged upon returning to Hong Kong four months ago, now at age 21. The prosecution alleges she carried two laser pointers and two cans of spray paint when police apprehended her on September 8, 2019.

Magistrate Wong pointed out that the nearest clash site was Causeway Bay, stating, "That's some distance away." The prosecution countered that police were dispersing protesters moving east. The defense questioned the testing of a laser pointer, with the inspector confirming its classification as Class 3B, capable of causing eye damage within 60 meters.

The defence cast doubt on whether Lo had tested the battery-powered laser pointer after replacing its battery, rather than using the battery already inside.

— DefenseQuestioning the methodology of the prosecution's expert witness during the trial.

Two defendants charged in the same case were acquitted in April 2021. The verdict for Chan's trial is scheduled for August 12, and she remains on bail.

The classification meant that shining the laser pointer within 60 metres of someone could potentially damage their eyes.

— Senior Inspector LoExplaining the potential danger of the laser pointer found in the defendant's possession.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hong Kong Free Press. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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