Hong Kong independence activist Edward Leung files appeal against Mong Kok riot conviction and jail sentence

Former student leader was earlier found guilty of taking part in unrest that broke out in busy shopping district in 2016

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Edward Leung being escorted from the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 8:57am, 26 Jun 2018Updated: 4:21pm, 27 Jun 2018

Hong Kong independence activist Edward Leung Tin-kei, who was jailed for six years over his role in the Mong Kok riot, has filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence.

On May 18, a nine-member jury unanimously found the former convenor of political group Hong Kong Indigenous guilty on one count of taking part in the riot on February 8, 2016, the first day of the Lunar New Year, and on the following day.

High Court Judge Anthea Pang Po-kam sentenced Leung, 27, to six years in jail on June 11, describing the unrest that rocked the busy shopping district as “organised violence” that was “extremely serious”.

Pang added that the offences committed that night could not be mitigated by one’s political aspirations.

This was the second-most severe punishment handed to a Hong Kong protester since public order laws were introduced in the city in the 1960s.

During the trial, the former University of Hong Kong student admitted to physically assaulting a police sergeant by kicking and hitting him with a wooden board. The 12-month sentence for that offence will run concurrently with the six-year term.