A woman was sentenced today to nearly four years behind bars for digging up bricks and throwing objects into street fires during the so-called 2016 Fishball Riots.
A Hong Kong court heard that Amy Pat Wai-fun, now 24, was in Mong Kok on the evening of Feb. 8, 2016. That evening, hundreds of people had gathered to prevent authorities from clearing out hawkers who had been selling food in the area. Protesters had heeded calls from localist groups like Hong Kong Indigenous to turn up and protect the hawkers, with the standoff between protesters and authorities escalating into some of the worst violence the city’s streets had seen in years — until the most recent round of unrest, of course — with a police officer even firing a warning shot into the air.
Pat was a well-known figure during the 2014 Umbrella Movement, and was dubbed the “female village chief” of the Mong Kok occupation site.
Pat was subsequently arrested and convicted of two counts of rioting, specifically for digging up bricks and throwing cardboard into the fires along the streets in Mong Kok. Though she wasn’t accused of throwing bricks herself, digging up the bricks was construed as abetting those who did.
Stand News reports that she was only convicted on Nov. 7 of this year, well over three years after the events in question.
The outlet also reported that a probation officer had recommended probation instead, noting that Pat required a lot of support due to a disability.
RTHK reports that during her sentencing at District Court this morning, Judge Ernest Lin said that although Pat didn’t directly throw bricks at the police, she was still removing them from the sidewalk for the “common purpose” of other demonstrators using them to pelt police officers.
It was reported that in one recorded police interview played in court, Pat had told officers that she also threw cardboard boxes into fires merely to dispose of the trash, because there was “no reason for street cleaners to work hard.”
Lin, however, described Pat’s argument as “laughable and unreasonable,” saying that it was clear that Pat’s intention was to obstruct police in carrying out their duties.
Lin said that although Pat’s participation in the pro-democracy movement will be appreciated by her peers, and her personal situation is worthy of sympathy, he added that it wasn’t enough for her to evade criminal responsibility, and that she would therefore be subject to similar penalties as other rioters.
He added that while everyone has a right to fight for freedom and democracy, their actions must not undermine other people’s safety and right to live a peaceful life. He then sentenced her to 46 months in jail.
Apple Daily reports that as Pat left the dock, she yelled “I will appeal!”
