6.12 3rd Anniversary｜Analysis of Anti-Amendment Riot Cases Data Analysis of 814 People Charged Over 1 Adult

The government successively described the 6.12 conflict as "riot" and "riot". Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor once clarified that "no riot has ever been defined." Police have characterized the rally in Admiralty as a riot.

No matter how the government defines it, the first riot against the amendment happened on 6.12 – 21-year-old Xian Jiahao was accused of ramming an iron horse into the police and was accused of participating in the riot. He pleaded guilty in May 2020 and was sentenced to 4 years in prison .

The anti-amendment movement is the largest and most charged social movement since 1997. According to "Court Line" statistics, as of June 12, 2022, a total of 814 people have been charged with rioting crimes, of which 86 were under the age of 18 at the time of the crime; some people were charged with more than one rioting crime, involving a total of 839 people, and Only about 27% of cases are currently closed.

Yuen Long 721 Tang Wai-chen, a man in white, was sentenced to a total of 7 years in prison for two crimes of rioting, with the longest prison term; followed by Choi Yun-ting, who was accused of throwing petrol bombs on Gascoy Road during the 11.18 PolyU conflict, was sentenced to 5 years and 8 moon.

Hundreds of people are currently facing long waits for riot charges. Some defendants have been acquitted and the Department of Justice has appealed. Some people have been arrested this year after more than two years, and some cases have been postponed until November 2023.

Under the National Security Law, the government refers to society as "turning from chaos to rule", while the police and the Department of Justice are still investigating and prosecuting the conflict over the anti-amendment legislation. On the occasion of the third anniversary of 6.12, "Court Line" organized and analyzed the number of riot cases to "freeze" the current situation, allowing the society to review the scale of the conflict and grasp the situation and progress of the prosecution through the data.

The police figure about 765 people were charged with rioting, while the number of reporters was 808.

According to figures provided by the police, from June 9, 2019 to April 30, 2022, about 765 people were charged with rioting.

Based on nearly four years of court records and news reports, "Court Wire" collects information on riot crimes, including the name of the defendant, age at the time of the crime, and the location of the crime, and uses the data to count the number of people charged and track the progress of the case. According to the reporter's statistics, a total of 808 people were charged with rioting during the same period.

The police figure is about 43 fewer people than the "Court Line" statistics. Regarding this difference, the police replied that the relevant police figures are calculated based on the charge sheet, including those who have withdrawn charges and absconded. As for other cases of changing and increasing charges, the police said that they would try to include them in the records, and the statistics are only approximate.

For the convenience of readers’ understanding, the reporter also counted the number of riot cases for a complete three-year period, from June 9, 2019 to June 12, 2022, and concluded that a total of 814 people were charged; since 23 people were charged with more than one riot A total of 839 people were charged. The following sections are based on these two figures.

814 charged, 86 under 18 at the time of the crime

According to "Court Line" statistics, 814 people, including 626 males and 188 females, were charged with rioting, ranging in age from 13 to 63 at the time of the incident. There are 86 people under the age of 18, accounting for more than 10% of the total.

434 defendants were 22 years old or younger at the time of the crime, accounting for more than 53% of the total. According to the general school age, 22 of them were of junior high school age (13 to 15 years old), 120 of them were of high school age (16 to 18 years old), and 292 were of junior college age (19 to 18 years old) 22 years old).

Two rioting cases involving underage defendants were concluded in the Juvenile Court; another case is pending in the High Court. The two teenagers were charged with murder and rioting in Sheung Shui on 13 November 2019 for shooting an old man to death with a brick .

Judge Says Defendant "Extremely Young" Sentenced to Re-education Through Labor

Except for the above 3 cases, other riot cases involving defendants under the age of 18 are currently being dealt with in the District Court. The 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty. Judge Guo Qi'an called the two "extremely young" and sentenced them to a labor camp. The judge cited the case of the Court of Appeal that the court will, in accordance with the Juvenile Offenders Ordinance, take the well-being of juvenile offenders as the main consideration as far as practicable, and give them the opportunity to renew as much as possible. Ensure compliance and good behavior.

However, there are exceptions. During the conflict in Sheung Shui on 12.28, a 16-year-old boy was accused of "privately" filming passers-by of demonstrators and grabbing guns. He was charged with rioting, assaulting a police officer, etc., and was convicted after interrogation. . Judge Yao Xunzhi pointed out that the crime was serious, "young age is not a powerful mitigating factor", and the court was not suitable to sentence a training center or other non-custodial sentences. The defendant was eventually sentenced to 4 years and 3 months in prison for the crime of rioting. The total sentence is 4 years and 9 months.

PolyU conflict splits into at least 37 cases

Some anti-amendment conflict incidents involve a large number of defendants and are currently divided into multiple cases. Among them, the PolyU conflict in November 2019 currently involves more than 300 defendants. The involved locations include multiple locations inside and outside the Polytechnic University, Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei. At least 37 cases are being tried.

The second is the 9.29 "Global Anti-Totalitarian March" conflict. Currently, 96 people are accused of rioting in Admiralty, and they are divided into 11 cases. The 7.28 Sheung Wan conflict involves 42 defendants and is divided into 3 cases.

482 cases have not been tried, 173 people have been convicted

According to the reporter's statistics, among the 839 accused persons, 224 cases have been concluded, 103 cases are under trial, and 482 cases have not been tried. In addition, 19 persons (16 persons) were wanted, and among the remaining 11 persons, the defendants were respectively withdrawn and pleaded guilty to other charges (10 persons), and the remaining person passed away before the trial.

In the concluded cases, a total of 173 persons were convicted, 51 persons pleaded guilty, 122 persons were convicted after trial, and over 80% were convicted. Years vary. 50 people were acquitted, and the remaining one pleaded not guilty. The defendant in the case was social worker Chen Hongxiu, who was charged with the 8.31 Wanchai riot. The Department of Justice is appealing the case.

In addition, 291 of the 814 defendants were charged with other crimes in addition to rioting. Most were charged with "use of a mask while in an unlawful assembly" and "possession of an offensive weapon".

Most of the sentences are 3 to 4 years. 721 The prisoner in white has a maximum of 7 years.

The maximum penalty for rioting is 10 years in prison. According to statistics from reporters, nearly 50% of rioters were convicted and sentenced to 3 to 3 years and 11 months in prison, the highest proportion; 8 people were sentenced to 5 years or more in prison, each from Yuen Long 7.21 attack, 8.13 airport clash and 11.18 PolyU clash.

In the Yuen Long 7.21 attack, Tang Wai-chan, the defendant in white, was found guilty of two counts of rioting, wounding with intent and conspiracy to wound with intent. District Court Judge Ye Zuowen pointed out that the case was an "indiscriminate attack of collective irrationality", while Deng commanded other men in white to beat people, "the role is even more sinful." Sentenced to 5 and 6 years' imprisonment for the two rioting offences respectively. Judge Ye Zuowen continued to point out that the two sets of incidents and the victims were different, and the sentence should be executed in installments. However, considering that the District Court's maximum sentence was 7 years, one of them was executed in installments, so Deng's total sentence was 7 years.

In the 11.18 conflict at PolyU, the defendant, Cai Yunting, was accused of throwing petrol bombs and causing an explosion on Gascoigne Road. Deputy Judge Wang Shili said her actions were "more active and proactive" and sentenced to 5 years and 8 months in prison.

In the 8.13 airport conflict, the defendant, Lai Yunlong, was accused of using a flagpole to attack Fu Guohao, a reporter from the Global Times, and continued the attack after Fu was rescued, as well as obstructing the rescue. Judge Li Qingnian called Lai's behavior "very bad" and sentenced him to five years and three months in prison.

482 cases have not been tried
7.1 The 2023 Annual Trial of Chuang Lihui and Other Cases

In the case of rioting against the amendment bill, there are still 482 cases, accounting for 57% of the total, which includes the 7.1 Legislative Council case involving artist Wang Zongyao and former Hong Kong University Student Union President Sun Xiaolan, which is scheduled to start trial in May 2023. A number of PolyU conflict cases have yet to be heard, including one involving nine people, which is scheduled to start on 22 November 2023. The defendants in the case took more than 4 years from arrest to trial.

Hundreds of defendants face long waits. On the other hand, the investigation by the police and the prosecution by the Department of Justice are still ongoing. Since the beginning of 2022, another 33 people have been charged with rioting. Among them, 13 people have “kicked the security” and were arrested and charged with rioting after more than two years. etc. sin. Another man was accused of participating in the clashes in Sha Tin, Wong Tai Sin and Tsuen Wan in 2019. He was charged with three counts of rioting in May and was released on bail pending trial. (see report)

Their cases are currently at the stage of appearing in court or being referred to the District Court, and a trial date is yet to be set.

24 people acquitted of charges

As for the 51 people who were found not guilty and the testimonies were not established, does that mean the case is over?

According to the investigation report, the Department of Justice appealed against the acquittals of at least 24 of them, including Wang Zhirong, the only exonerated defendant in the 7.21 Yuen Long riot case, and multiple defendants in the 8.31 Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and 10.6 Wan Chai riot cases.

In December 2021, the Department of Justice obtained an arrest warrant and re-arrested 8 defendants acquitted of the 8.31 Wan Chai riot case, including the social worker Chen Hongxiu who was acquitted. The police brought Chen Hongxiu and three other people to court successively. They were imposed bail restrictions, including not being allowed to leave Hong Kong and reporting to a designated police station every week. According to reports, the whereabouts of the remaining four defendants who were not convicted in the same case are unknown.

10.6 During the Wan Chai conflict, the five defendants were found not guilty of rioting after trial, but were convicted of using a mask. They were sentenced to 10 weeks in prison, admission to a rehabilitation center and a 240-hour social service order. The Department of Justice appealed against the conviction of rioting. Three of the defendants who were sentenced to prison were escorted by police officers to the High Court on the day they were released from prison, with bail conditions imposed on them, restricting them from leaving Hong Kong.

The Department of Justice replied to the "Court Line" that the appeal case was carried out in accordance with the established procedures and will be scheduled for hearing at an appropriate time. Since the judicial process of the case is still in progress, it is inappropriate to make further comments on the case.