A Hong Kong court has convicted a former law student of rioting during the 2019 protests and riots, after the government successfully appealed her release, leading to a retrial.
Alice Tong, 26, was found guilty of rioting on Tuesday, nearly seven years after she was arrested in Wan Chai on August 31, 2019. according to for local media. District Judge Edmond Lee remanded Tong in custody pending sentencing on July 15.
Lee initially acquitted Tong of charges of rioting and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place in August 2021, saying at the time prosecutors had failed to prove she had committed violence or incited the riot.
Authorities appealed against her release, and the Court of Appeal overturned Lee’s decision in June 2024.
The three appeal judges said at the time that the circumstantial evidence of Tong’s involvement in the riots was “overwhelming”. according to for the witness media.
The Court of Appeal judges ordered a retrial of the case by the trial judge. In July of last year, they rejected Tong’s request to take her case to the Court of Final Appeal.
Judge Lee said on Tuesday that the circumstantial evidence was “overwhelming” to show that Tong was part of the riots and had encouraged others through her presence.
At the time of her arrest, Tong was dressed in black, wearing a gas mask and a black scarf, and carrying an umbrella and a walking stick, Lee said.
Officers also confiscated a helmet, goggles, gloves and a laser pen from her backpack, Lee said.
The defendant’s clothing and the equipment she was carrying were “extremely unusual and suspicious,” Lee said, noting that her clothing that day was clearly similar to that of other protesters.
Lee also said that, in the minutes before the defendant was stopped by the police, many black-clad protesters were marching along the same road on Wan Chai Road to the east.
The judge rejected the defense’s argument that Tong was simply caught up in the rioting and was not leaving the scene with other protesters.
Tong was seen crying after the judge delivered his verdict, while her supporters shouted, “We love you all” as she walked away from guards, the Witness reported.
Protests broke out in June 2019 on a that-axe extradition bill. they escalated in sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behavior, among calls for democracy and anger at Beijing’s breach. the demonstrators demanded A independent probe in the conduct of the police, amnesty for the arrested and a stop characterizing protests as “riots”.
