Social worker and pro-democracy activist Ken Tsang has been given a five week jail sentence after he was convicted of one count of police assault and two counts of resisting arrest during Occupy protests in 2014.
Both offences carry a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment.
In the meantime, the 40-year-old has been freed on HKD300 cash bail. Tsang’s counsel David Ma suggested that he would appeal the decision, reports the SCMP.
Tsang was sentenced to five weeks’ imprisonment for assaulting police, and three weeks’ imprisonment for each count of resisting arrest. He is to serve all three sentences concurrently.
Magistrate Peter Law said imprisonment was “absolutely appropriate” and the only option for Tsang’s sentence.
The social worker was accused of assaulting police officers by splashing liquid which “smelled like urine” on them, on the same night he was reportedly beaten by other police officers.
“The defendant […] was angry at police for losing restraint. On the other hand, he had similarly lost restraint in splashing an unknown liquid and causing harm to innocent police officers,” Law said, and commented that Tsang appeared to show no remorse for his actions.
Tsang made headlines in 2014 after footage of him being allegedly beaten by seven police officers, while handcuffed, was widely featured in international coverage of the Occupy Movement.
The police who are accused of beating Tsang are to stand trial separately this Wednesday.
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