Hong Kong protests: jobless man with mental disability placed in rehabilitation centre for attempted arson, criminal damage in 2019
- Mahmood Hamaad, 19, placed a burning plastic bag outside Mong Kok Police Station during a protest on September 5, 2019
- Judge Edmond Lee says arson is a very serious offence but rehabilitation centre can provide defendant with scope to reintegrate into the community
An unemployed man with moderate mental disability has been placed in a rehabilitation centre for attempted arson and criminal damage during the 2019 anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
The District Court heard Hongkonger Mahmood Hamaad, 19, placed a burning plastic bag outside the security gate of Mong Kok Police Station when a large crowd of protesters gathered in the district on the night of September 5, 2019. The fire was quickly put out by police with no harm done to the gate or the surrounding people.
Hamaad, who has Pakistani roots, then went to a nearby amusement arcade to play a claw machine, where he left behind a bag consisting of his belongings, before returning to the area near the police station. He then used a hiking stick to hit a traffic light on Nathan Road and also shook its pole. No damage was done to the signal light.
He was arrested on the same night, with a toy in hand. Police also found three lighters on him.
Last month, he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted arson and another of attempted criminal damage.
Judge Edmond Lee Chun-man said arson was a very serious offence that typically warranted four to five years in prison, but he considered there were special personal circumstances in this case which presented forceful mitigation for a lenient sentence.
