Leung, Yau jailed for storming LegCo

The Kowloon City Magistrates’ Court on Monday sentenced disqualified lawmakers Sixtus Leung Chung-hang, Yau Wai-ching and three of their assistants to four-week jail terms for storming into the Legislative Council chamber in November 2016.

Leung and one assistant were granted HK$3,000 bail each pending appeal on condition they remain in Hong Kong; the rest were immediately remanded in custody.

Last month, the five were convicted of taking part in an illegal assembly as they forced their way into a LegCo meeting in November 2016, despite LegCo President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen banning Sixtus Leung and Yau from entering the chamber after they failed to take their oaths properly.

Acting principal magistrate Wong Sze-lai said jail terms were the only suitable option as they served as a deterrent to crime, and a response to public concern and disgust toward the defendants’ actions, adding that the sentences had no relation to the defendants’ political assertions.

In the sentencing statement, Wong said the case was serious because five of them planned the assembly and were well-prepared for a conflict with security staff even though they knew they would be prohibited from entering the meeting.

Since Leung and Yau were legislators-elect they should not commit any crime or ruin the dignity of the city’s legislature, Wong said.

She explained that in deciding punishment, the scale, duration and impact of the defendants’ actions, as well as the extent of violence

Jail terms are the only suitable option as they serve as a deterrent to crime.” Wong Sze-lai, acting principal magistrate at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Court

used at the incident, were all taken into consideration.

Wong also noted that neither Leung nor Yau pleaded guilty or showed any remorse for what they did. They also made no plea before conviction.

The magistrate postponed the sentencing for almost an hour to reconsider the case after receiving three mitigation letters from Yau, her secondary-school teacher and a commentator.

Yau reflected that she was thoughtless when she took action, and she also felt regret over neglecting her responsibilities as a daughter when her parents were diagnosed with cancer.

But the court later noted that Yau didn’t truly feel regret for her action in mitigation letters she submitted, hence it did not adjust the jail term.

Under Hong Kong’s Public Order Ordinance, unlawful assembly carries a maximum punishment of five years’ imprisonment.

Leung and Yau were disqualified as lawmakers by a High Court judge for violating the Basic Law and the local ordinance regulating the oathtaking process when being sworn into office in 2016.

Disqualified lawmakers-elect Sixtus Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching were each sentenced on Monday to four weeks in prison, along with three of their former assistants, after being found guilty of illegal assembly in the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Court. Accompanied by their assistants and several supporters, Leung and Yau gate-crashed a Legislative Council meeting in November 2016 and violently resisted the LegCo president’s order to leave, knocking one of the security guards to the ground while pushing and shoving. The conviction and sentencing of Yau and Leung confirmed once again an important principle of rule of law: No one is above the law; political reasons won’t save one from the legal consequences of his/her offenses.

The magistrate made it clear the five defendants deserved proper punishment for their unlawful behavior and especially for resorting to violence while disturbing peace and public order. But more importantly, a punishment with a deterrent effect is needed lest other young people might be misguided to believe that unlawful acts would be pardoned as long as they are carried out under the guise of political belief or motives, and therefore would be encouraged to resort to radical actions when they want to air their political demands.

It is hard to believe all those opposition lawmakers who are professional lawyers and supported Leung and Yau all the way never advised them about the consequences of breaking existing law first and watched them use non-existent LegCo member status as defense in court later. These lawyers were virtually suggesting that one would be above the law once he or she had been elected as a legislator. Imagine what would happen to Hong Kong’s rule of law had they got away with such unlawful behavior and ridiculous defense in court.

Although many members of the public said they felt the sentence of four weeks in prison was not much of a deterrent, popular responses in general have been quite positive in that it has sent another warning to those thinking of following Leung and Yau’s footsteps in pursuing a career in politics through acts of “shock and awe”, even in the face of the rule of law. Given the fact that they are leading members of a radical group called Youngspiration and won LegCo elections on a political platform of unconstitutional pursuits, people should not be surprised if some radical youths still see them as their “idols” and want to be like them. That means we still have a long way to go in educating the younger generation about being responsible law-abiding citizens as well as the consequences of breaking the law.