Hong Kong protests: students sentenced to correctional training and to pay HK$285,000 in total for damaging rail facilities
- The duo vandalised Light Rail stations in Tuen Mun on September 7, damaging ticketing machines, card readers, and surveillance cameras
- Passing first sentence on vandalism of rail facilities during ongoing protests, judge says one should not resort to unlawful means to express his or her views
College student Edgar Kwok, 17, and another 15-year-old student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted to defacing three Light Rail stations in Tuen Mun during the early hours on September 7. Prosecutors said the students had vandalised five ticketing machines and seven Octopus card readers, in addition to spraying paint on 12 surveillance cameras.
Acting Principal Magistrate Cheung Kit-yee ordered each of the two to bear half of the compensation, totalling HK$285,447, to the MTR Corporation for damaging the facilities.
Cheung said a short-term custodial sentence was appropriate given the serious nature of the offence, which had caused considerable inconvenience to local residents who were stopped from taking the public transport because of the damage.
