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

A protester charged over the 2019 unrest was “some distance” away from clashes when arrested, a magistrate has said in a trial taking place nearly seven years after the incident.

Eastern Law Courts Building. Photo: Almond Li/HKFP.

Ami Chan appeared at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Monday for the second day of her trial in relation to the protests and unrest in 2019.

Chan, who was arrested in 2019 but refused bail, left for Australia in 2021. She was charged when she returned to Hong Kong four months ago.

The defendant was 15 when she was arrested. She was 21 when she was charged in March this year.

She faces charges of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and possessing “anything with intent to destroy or damage property.”

According to the prosecution, she was carrying two laser pointers and two cans of spray paint when police arrested her on September 8, 2019, in Fortress Hill.

Magistrate Wong pointed out that at the time, the nearest place where protesters clashed with police was Causeway Bay.

“That’s some distance away,” he said.

In response, the prosecution said police were dispersing protesters in Causeway Bay, and that the crowd was pushing east.

Verdict due on August 12

Previously, on June 28, the first day of the two-day trial, the prosecution summoned a now-retired senior inspector, surnamed Lo, who said he conducted tests on the laser pointers in 2020.

Lo told the court that one of them was a USB-rechargeable laser pointer, while the other was battery-powered.

Hong Kong police emblem. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP.

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.

In response, Lo said that the discrepancy related to the batteries did not affect the categorisation of the laser pen, which he said belonged to Class 3B. He said the classification meant that shining the laser pointer within 60 metres of someone could potentially damage their eyes.

The case was adjourned to August 12 for the magistrate to hand down a verdict, with Chan remaining on bail.

Wong said on Monday that two defendants charged in the same case as Chan had been found not guilty. They were acquitted in April 2021.