Hong Kong actor Gregory Wong applies to appeal 2019 LegCo storming riot conviction, sentence at top court

A Hong Kong actor convicted of rioting at the Legislative Council during the 2019 pro-democracy protests and unrest has lodged an appeal at the Court of Final Appeal.

Gregory Wong on May 29, 2023. Photo: Lea Mok/HKFP.

The top court is scheduled to hear a leave to appeal application from Gregory Wong, the Judiciary’s website showed on Thursday. No hearing date has been set yet.

Wong, 47, was jailed for six years and two months in March 2024, after being found guilty of rioting in the Legislative Council on July 1, 2019.

Protesters stormed the legislative complex that day, breaking glass windows and doors and scrawling protest slogans on the walls.

Some also sprayed black paint on Hong Kong’s emblem inside the legislative chamber, while others vandalised the portraits of previous Legislative Council presidents.

During the trial, Wong’s lawyer argued that the actor had gone to the Legislative Council to hand a portable charger to a reporter.

Protesters storm the legislative complex on July 1, 2019. File Photo: May James.

Wong was among 14 defendants charged in the rioting case. Eight pleaded guilty, including activists Owen Chow, Ventus Lau and Althea Suen.

Six others pleaded not guilty, sitting through a 34-day trial. Except for two of them, who were journalists reporting on the incident, the remaining defendants were found guilty.

Wong’s application to the top court comes after he lost his appeal at the Court of Appeal last month.

The appeal hearing also saw six other defendants in the original case appeal their sentences, convictions or both. All of their appeals were rejected.