Hong Kong ex-opposition lawmaker has case to answer over allegedly instigating mob violence at Yuen Long MTR station in 2019

A Hong Kong court has found former opposition lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting has a case to answer over allegedly instigating mob violence at a railway station during the 2019 anti-government protests.

The District Court decided on Thursday that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to accuse Lam Cheuk-ting of rioting on July 21 that year. Lam and 46 others were injured by a group of white-shirted men armed with rods at Yuen Long MTR station, in an attack viewed as the tipping point of the protests arising from a now-withdrawn extradition bill.

The court reached a similar conclusion regarding the riot allegations against Lam’s co-defendants: Yu Ka-ho, Jason Chan Wing-hei, Yip Kam-sing, Kwong Ho-lam, Wan Chung-ming and Marco Yeung Long.

Prosecutors have maintained the attack was the result of “repeated provocation” by a black-clad group gathering at the station, including Lam, a Democratic Party lawmaker at the time.

They relied on the testimony of a female bystander, who claimed the men in white went after their rivals only after they “could no longer bear” the latter’s verbal abuse.

The defence questioned the credibility of the woman, who was seen applauding and cheering for the white-shirted assailants while wearing a red string used to distinguish allies from foes.

The trial also learned that police had assigned two officers to monitor the station that night after discovering some villagers had called for an illegal assembly in the area, but they were unable to prevent the attack.

Lam’s counsel, Catherine Wong Kam-kuen, submitted on Wednesday that the defendant had confronted the men in white out of concern for the safety of young protesters returning from a large rally on Hong Kong Island earlier that day.

Protesters caused clash at Yuen Long MTR station in 2019, prosecutors tell court

She said Lam had repeatedly urged others to stay calm and warned the white-clad men to hold off their advances, adding that even an ordinary resident could take “reasonable steps” to restore social order in case of a breach of the peace.

But Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi dismissed that contention and said “every riot could become an armed conflict” based on that line of reasoning.

He also suggested the most reasonable course of action at the time was for Lam and his comrades to flee.

7 guilty of 2019 Yuen Long MTR assaults jailed for up to 7 years

Explaining his ruling on Thursday, Chan said whether Lam’s defence was viable should be determined at the end of the trial, as the court was not required at this stage to determine the defendant’s degree of criminality.

He added the accused were not required to prove their innocence even though Thursday’s decision was against them.

All seven defendants have indicated they intend to take the stand when the trial continues in March.

Apart from this case, Lam is standing trial in a national security case over his alleged role in an unofficial primary election for the Legislative Council in 2020. He has been remanded in custody since March 2021 under the national security law.