Hong Kong protests: court orders prosecutors to pay innocent Filipino dancer’s legal costs after arrest for unlawful assembly
- Jethro Santiago Pioquinto, 36, was arrested 600 metres from his home at the junction of Nathan Road and Fife Street
- Magistrate was told police had arrested the defendant despite knowing he lived nearby and carried nothing suspicious
A Hong Kong court on Friday ordered prosecutors to bear the legal expenses incurred by a Filipino expatriate who walked past an unauthorised protest on his way home but was nonetheless charged with taking part in it.
Kowloon City Court ruled in favour of dancer Jethro Santiago Pioquinto, 36, who cleared his name after the Department of Justice could not prove he had taken part in an unlawful assembly in Mong Kok on August 3.
Pioquinto, who was arrested 600 metres from his home at the junction of Nathan Road and Fife Street, was among five defendants who had protest-related charges dropped because of insufficient evidence.
He was the third to successfully apply for costs of the legal proceedings, after the court ruled he had been apprehended by police even though he had not acted suspiciously.
The court heard that on the night in question, more than 100 protesters had gathered on Nathan Road and confronted riot police who formed a cordon at the junction of Argyle Street – one block south of where Pioquinto was. He was arrested after officers conducted a sweep and marched north along Nathan Road.
At Friday’s hearing, acting Principal Magistrate Ada Yim Shun-yee made the quick decision to allow Pioquinto’s application without hearing from the prosecution, after she was told police had arrested the defendant despite knowing he lived nearby and carried nothing suspicious.