Seven Hong Kong policemen were sentenced today to two years prison for beating democracy activist Ken Tsang during the Occupy Hong Kong protests two years ago.
The beating occurred during one of the most violent days of clashes between police and protestors during the Occupy protests that shut down Central for nearly three months.
The attack was captured on video and Tsang’s injuries were documented in photos that went viral throughout Hong Kong.
The policemen were found guilty on Tuesday of a joint account of “assault occasioning actual bodily harm” while one constable was found guilty of an additional common assault charge for slapping Tsang at a police station, according to the South China Morning Post.
Despite over a thousand letters from the public in support of the police officers, the policemen were swiftly sentenced to prison by judge David Dufton.
“There can be no doubt that police officers including the defendants were working under great pressure during the Occupy Movement,” said the judge, according to SCMP.
Continuing, however, he added:
“The assault is a vicious assault. Although Tsang broke the law … and the police officers worked under immense stress … there was no justification to assault Tsang.
“The assault is too serious to be of the position of a suspended sentence.”
Tsang appears to have thrown water onto the policemen before the assault, according to the video.
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