Yuen Long rioter sentenced to 4½ years

Mechanic ninth person linked to white-clad station mob to be punished

A garage mechanic has been jailed for more than 4½ years for taking part in a 2019 attack against protesters and commuters at a railway station, becoming the ninth person associated with the white-clad mob to be punished.

Tang Siu-hung, 42, received four years and seven months in jail at the District Court yesterday for his “extensive” involvement in the 27-minute rampage at Yuen Long station on July 21, 2019.

The incident was one of the most divisive chapters of the anti-government protests that year.

Tang pleaded guilty to rioting and wounding with intent last month after video footage captured him intimidating and assaulting MTR passengers.

Dressed in a white sleeveless shirt, he was seen attacking commuters, some of whom were making their way back from a mass demonstration on Hong Kong Island against a nowwithdrawn extradition bill.

Deputy Judge Daniel Tang Siu-hung said the accused spearheaded the attack as he encouraged his accomplices to chase after their victims.

He echoed the findings in a 2021 ruling on seven others involved in the violence, where a separate judge slammed the group for displacing the role of police and instilling fear in residents.

Deputy Judge Tang stressed the court would not condone vigilantism even if the offender genuinely believed in the legitimacy of his conduct.

He also highlighted the defence’s failure to show the defendant had turned over a new leaf after nearly five years.

The judge set a starting point of seven years’ imprisonment, the longest prison term that can be issued in the District Court, before granting Tang a one-third discount in recognition of his guilty plea.

The deputy judge also agreed to knock a month off the total term for his voluntary community work a decade ago.

But a defence request to further reduce the sentence for a perceived delay in Tang’s prosecution was rejected.

More than 100 white-clad men stormed the station wielding iron poles and rattan sticks, leaving at least 45 people injured. They claimed the move was to protect their homes from “invading” protesters.

Police were chastised for their belated response and perceived inaction during the indiscriminate attack, but the force maintained it was stretched thin battling a protest in the heart of the city.

Tang was seen intimidating the black-clad group – the theme colour of demonstrators – soon after entering Yuen Long station at 10.48pm. He assaulted two men, called on his accomplices to charge into the station’s paid area and issued verbal threats to his victims before leaving at 11.15pm.

Police identified the accused in late 2022 and arrested him at his home in July the following year.

Black trousers seized from his home were subsequently identified as the ones he wore during the attack.

Eight men who were among the white-shirted group were previously jailed for 3½ to seven years for their roles in the attack, while another was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

Police have also charged eight men associated with the blackclad group, including former opposition lawmaker Lam Cheukting, who was injured during the incident.

A 43-year-old accountant who was not part of the mob was sentenced to 33 months behind bars for rioting, after a separate judge rejected his claim of self-defence.

The trial of Lam and six others is still ongoing.