A Hong Kong court has convicted a former law student of rioting during the 2019 protests and unrest after the government successfully appealed against her acquittal, leading to a retrial.
Alice Tong, 26, was found guilty of rioting on Tuesday, nearly seven years after she was arrested in Wan Chai on August 31, 2019, according to local media. District Judge Edmond Lee remanded Tong in custody pending sentencing on July 15.
Lee initially acquitted Tong of rioting and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place in August 2021, saying at that time prosecutors had failed to prove she committed violence or abetted the riot.
Authorities appealed against her acquittal, and the Court of Appeal overturned Lee’s decision in June 2024.
The three appellate judges said at that time that the circumstantial evidence of Tong’s participation in the riot was “overwhelming,” according to media outlet The Witness.
The Court of Appeal judges ordered the case to be reconsidered by the trial judge. In July last year, they rejected Tong’s application to take her case to the Court of Final Appeal.
Judge Lee said on Tuesday that the circumstantial evidence was “overwhelming” in showing that Tong was part of the riot and had encouraged others through her presence.
At the time of her arrest, Tong was dressed in black, carrying a gas mask and a black scarf, and holding an umbrella and a walking stick, Lee said.
Officers also seized a helmet, goggles, gloves, and a laser pen from her backpack, Lee said.
The defendant’s clothing and the equipment she carried were “extremely unusual and suspicious,” Lee said, pointing out that her outfit on that day was clearly similar to that of other protesters.
Lee also said that, in the minutes before the defendant was stopped by police, many black-clad protesters were retreating along the same route on Wan Chai Road towards the east.
The judge dismissed the defence’s argument that Tong was merely caught in the riot and was not leaving the scene alongside other protesters.
Tong was seen weeping after the judge delivered his verdict, while her supporters yelled, “We all love you,” as she was led away by guards, The Witness reported.
Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
