Hong Kong protests: prosecutors challenge stargazing defence of former student leader found with laser pointers
- Keith Fong, 23, is on trial at District Court charged with possessing offensive weapons, resisting a police officer and perverting the course of justice
- Fong, ex-president of Baptist University’s student union, told police he bought the laser devices to look at the stars
Hong Kong prosecutors have challenged the claim of a former student leader on trial for possessing laser pointers during the 2019 protests that he was planning to use the devices for stargazing.
Keith Fong Chung-yin, then president of Baptist University’s student union, had bought 10 boxes of laser pointers at HK$4,200 (US$540) from a hawker stall at Ap Liu Street in Sham Shui Po on August 6 that year.
The District Court heard Fong later told police that he had bought them for stargazing and that his arresting officer had scared him when he was intercepted afterwards.
But acting assistant director of public prosecutions Ivan Cheung Cheuk-kan questioned if Fong had a genuine interest in astronomy and argued that the student had bought the laser pointers for the purpose of harming others, knowing how such devices were being used during the anti-government protests.
On Monday, the 23-year-old pleaded not guilty to three charges stemming from the incident – possessing offensive weapons in a public place, resisting a police officer and perverting the course of public justice.
Opening the case before Judge Douglas Yau Tak-hong, Cheung said six officers had been injured by laser beams in the execution of their duties during protests since June 2019. The injuries included weakened vision, inflammation and subconjunctival bleeding.
Police constable Wong Hon-fung testified that he was browsing leather bags while dressed in plain clothes after coming off duty on the night of August 6, when he overheard a woman selling laser devices at the neighbouring hawker stall.
“This one [emits] blue light,” he recounted the woman as saying. “Be careful, [it’ll] pierce through objects. It’s only sold here, HK$420 apiece.”