HK activist found guilty of sandwich ‘attack’
HONG KONG: Hong Kong democracy activist Avery Ng was yesterday found guilty of assault for throwing a sandwich towards the city’s then-leader which hit a police officer.
Ng, 40, chairman of political party the League of Social Democrats, was sentenced to three weeks in jail but released on bail pending an appeal.
It was the latest in a series of cases against democracy activists which have led to accusations of interference in the judiciary as Beijing tightens its grip on the semi-autonomous city.
Judge So Wai-tak said the sentence was a ‘deterrent’ against what he described as ‘ violent means’ used in protests against government policies, although he acknowledged the fact that the weapon was a sandwich merited a shorter jail term.
Afterwards Ng told reporters he believed the judicial system was being used by the city’s Beijingbacked government.
“Only in such a ridiculous place as the current Hong Kong will you see a sentence of three weeks,” he said.
Ng told the court he had thrown what he described as a ‘smelly fish sandwich’ at Hong Kong’s unpopular then- chief executive Leung Chun-ying as he was on his way to vote in the September 2016 legislative election. — AFP