Plea by radical Leung Kwok-hung is slapped down by magistrate, who tells him the court is not a stage to discuss politics
CHRIS.LAU@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Monday, 18 January, 2016, 7:48pm
UPDATED : Monday, 18 January, 2016, 7:53pm
Lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung is accused of obstructing a student debating competition. Photo: Sam Tsang
Lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung told a court on Monday that a case against him and a fellow pro-democracy activist for obstructing a student debating competition last year should be discharged and that police should focus their resources on looking for missing bookseller Lee Bo.
Leung, 59, and Tam Kok-tsuen, 43, a radio host and member of the radical People Power party, were accused of wilfully obstructing, disturbing, interrupting and annoying people at the 30th Sing Tao Inter-School Debating Competition on May 15.
The contest was held by Chinese-language publisher Sing Tao Newspaper Group at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai. It was alleged that the people they obstructed included staff members from the company.
The pair pleaded not guilty in Eastern Court.
I was merely protesting
LEUNG KWOK-HUNG’S REPLY WHEN ASKED TO MAKE A PLEA
Leung made the suggestion following his call for the court to release him and Tam.
“Police should dedicate more time to finding Lee Bo,” said Leung, referring to the bookseller of Causeway Bay Books, which specialises in publications critical of the Chinese Communist Party.
Lee was last seen in Hong Kong on December 30. Since then letters purportedly written by him have emerged, suggesting he had gone to mainland China “on his own accord” to assist investigations despite a lack of immigration records showing he had left the city.
Principal Magistrate Bina Chainrai told Leung, however, that the court was not a stage to discuss political affairs.
She suggested that Leung apply for a stay of proceedings, a legal procedure in which a case could be dropped if a magistrate is so convinced.
When asked to make a plea, Leung replied: “I was merely protesting.”
He said protesting was not a crime.
Tam said that although he had received a bundle of court documents he had not had time to go through them as he had just returned to the city after witnessing the presidential election in Taiwan.
The court heard the trial would involve 17 witnesses and a video featuring three hours of footage.
The magistrate adjourned the case to February 22 for a pre-trial session.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1902698/hong-kong-lawmaker-long-hair-calls-obstruction-case-be
