Hong Kong man who barricaded entrance to government headquarters last year sent back to jail after appeal court lengthens sentence
- Court of Appeal finds the original magistrate’s reasoning had been ‘arbitrary’, and that a deterrent sentence was required
- Defendant Yu Ka-kui must serve another 6½ months in jail after already completing his previous two-week term
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal also reiterated that even minor involvement in an illegal gathering should be met with a hefty penalty to forestall attempts to disrupt public order, particularly when it came to large-scale violent protests where police were outnumbered.
The court on Friday delivered its written judgment explaining the decision to grant the justice department’s application to review the sentence of defendant Yu Ka-kui, who was ordered last month to go to prison for another 6½ months after having already served out the two-week term imposed by a lower court.
Yu was jailed for two weeks on June 8 by Magistrate Lam Tsz-kan, who accepted that the defendant had been “incited” by protesters, and committed the crime spontaneously after happening to walk past the area that afternoon.
But the appeal court, presided over by justices Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor, Derek Pang Wai-cheong and Maggie Poon Man-kay, ruled on November 23 that Lam had “erred in principle” in handing down the lighter sentence.