Social worker is accused of pouring liquid that smelled like urine on 11 officers before resisting arrest by another four
JASMINE.SIU@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Thursday, 26 May, 2016, 3:00pm
Ken Tsang shook hands with his supporters, who raised yellow umbrellas and a banner that read: ‘Plaintiff turned defendant, prosecuted after he was beaten.’
Pro-democracy activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu was swarmed by a hundred supporters and journalists as he arrived at Kowloon City Court on Thursday afternoon to hear the verdict on the charges he faced for police assault and resisting arrest, which arose from the Occupy movement in 2014.
Sporting his usual navy suit with a bright yellow ribbon pinned to his lapel, the social worker greeted cameramen and photographers while his Civic Party vice-chairwoman Tanya Chan and lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki stood next to him in support.
Civic Party lawmaker Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, League of Social Democrats lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung and activist Tsang Kin-shing were also among those who stood by his side.
But before he entered the building, Tsang shook hands with his supporters, who raised yellow umbrellas and a banner that read: “Plaintiff turned defendant, prosecuted after he was beaten.”
Some also chanted: “Civil disobedience. Shame on political prosecution.”
But the defendant did not comment on the case.
The 40-year-old has pleaded not guilty to one count of police assault and four of resisting arrest.
Those who wished to hear the verdict in person were given stickers at 1.30pm to reserve a seat in courtroom number 13, where the press has been allocated 28 spots and the public, 74.
Others occupied the benches at the floor lobby to await news of the anticipated court ruling.
The trial before principal magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen, which opened on April 11, has heard Tsang being accused of pouring liquid that smelled like urine onto 11 police officers before resisting the arrest by another four.
Police assault and resisting arrest are both punishable by two years’ imprisonment, under the Offences Against the Person Ordinance.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1955109/supporters-raise-yellow-umbrellas-activist-ken-tsang-awaits
