4 plead guilty to rioting at PolyU during 2019 protests

“Four men have pleaded guilty to rioting during the siege of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) campus amid the anti-extradition protest and unrest seven years ago. District Court in Wan Chai. File photo: Hans Tse/HKFP. Cheung Chung-yiu, 24; Cheung Chin-ming, 29; Chan Chun-hei, 22; and Chan Yuen-ming, 33, appeared at the District Court on Monday morning to enter their pleas. The four defendants were not prosecuted when they were first arrested in 2019 and 2020. However, they were re-arrested in June 2024 and charged with rioting at PolyU between November 14, 2019 and November 20, 2019. The events at the Hung Hom campus were one of the most violent episodes during the protests and unrest in 2019, with protesters setting fires with petrol bombs as they faced off against police. A fifth defendant, Lai Chun-kit, was not present. He has not attended hearings since October 2024, and an arrest warrant has been issued for him, The Witness reported . Protesters outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong on November 17, 2019. Photo: Studio Incendo. According to the prosecution, CCTV footage captured the defendants’ behaviour during the riot. Cheung Chung-yiu was seen moving barriers to block a footbridge, while Cheung Chin-ming and Chan Chun-hei were filmed taking containers from a laboratory. Chan Yuen-ming was seen walking around the university campus and taking a large flask and two bottles with him. Mitigation The four defendants had initially planned to plead not guilty and go forward with a trial, the court heard, but later changed their minds. During mitigation, Cheung Chung-yiu’s lawyer said that the defendant had gone abroad to study before he was re-arrested in 2024, while Cheung Chin-ming’s lawyer told the court that his client had supported victims of the Wang Fuk Court fire in its aftermath. A bridge leading to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University set on fire on Nov. 17, 2019. Photo: Viola Kam/United Social Press. A legal representative for Chan Chun-hei said the defendant was only 16 at the time of the incident. He worked in the construction sector and became a father at 21, his lawyer said, adding that he regretted what he had done when he was younger. Chan Yuen-ming’s lawyer said his client was tricked into working at a scam farm in Thailand, returning to Hong Kong in 2022 after his family paid a ransom. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, the lawyer said. The lawyer added that Chan Yuen-ming was sentenced to 18 years and five months in prison for a drug trafficking offence, and that he stands to face a long time in prison. The four defendants will be sentenced on June 8. Rioting is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, although jail terms handed down at the District Court are capped at seven years.

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