Judge Rejects Expert Report In Democrats' Trial

"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("

Related News Programmes

"); jQuery(document).ready(function() { jwplayer.key='EKOtdBrvhiKxeOU807UIF56TaHWapYjKnFiG7ipl3gw='; var playerInstance = jwplayer("jquery_jwplayer_1"); playerInstance.setup({ file: "https://newsstatic.rthk.hk/audios/mfile_1576028_1_20210217185252.mp3", skin: { url: location.href.split('/', 4).join('/') + '/jwplayer/skin/rthk/five.css', name: 'five' }, hlshtml: true, width: "100%", height: 30, wmode: 'transparent', primary: navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Trident")>-1 ? "flash" : "html5", events: { onPlay: function(event) { dcsMultiTrack('DCS.dcsuri', 'https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1576028-20210217.mp3', 'WT.ti', ' Audio at newsfeed', 'WT.cg_n', '#rthknews', 'WT.cg_s', 'Multimedia','WT.es','https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1576028-20210217.htm', 'DCS.dcsqry', '' ); } } }); }); });

2021-02-17 HKT 13:50

Share this story

facebook

  • Among the defendants in this case are, from left, Lee Cheuk-yan, Leung Kwok-hung, Albert Ho and Cyd Ho. Photo: RTHK

    Among the defendants in this case are, from left, Lee Cheuk-yan, Leung Kwok-hung, Albert Ho and Cyd Ho. Photo: RTHK

A District Court judge has rejected an expert report on policing submitted by the defence on day one of the trial of seven prominent pro-democracy figures on illegal assembly-related charges.

A lawyer representing two of the defendants, veteran democrats Albert Ho and Martin Lee, submitted the report earlier on Wednesday, which alleges the police had not deployed enough officers to manage the crowd during the rally on August 18, 2019.

Ho and Lee are among nine activists charged with organising and taking part in an illegal assembly at Victoria Park on that day.

District Court judge Amanda Woodcock refused to admit the report on grounds that it is irrelevant to the case.

The report was compiled by Clifford Stott, a British expert in policing who in 2019 quit a panel formed by the Independent Police Complaints Council mandated to probe alleged police brutality amid the social unrest.

Stott’s report suggested that the police did not deploy enough manpower during the protest in question, even after organisers said they expected 300,000 people to turn up at the rally.

He said the force's manpower arrangement was "unusual".

The defence counsel for Ho and Lee said that was why organisers had to ask participants to follow the “flow” of crowd to enter and leave the park.

What they did on that day, the counsel submitted, was only to protect the safety of the public.

But the prosecution objected to the report, saying that if the defence wanted to argue that their clients had been trying to direct the public to leave Victoria Park, it would not be necessary for them to refer to it.

Prosecutors also questioned whether Stott would be able to make a fair assessment of the police operation, saying the expert had previously published a report criticising their enforcement action.

Ho and Lee, as well as media tycoon Jimmy Lai, former lawmakers Margaret Ng, Lee Cheuk-yan, Cyd Ho, and Leung Kwok-hung had pleaded not guilty to organising and taking part in an illegal assembly.

Former legislator Au Nok-hin had earlier admitted to organising and taking part in an unauthorised assembly, while another ex-lawmaker, Leung Yiu-chung pleaded guilty to joining the assembly. Sentencing for the pair has been adjourned to March 22.

______________________________



Last updated: 2021-02-17 HKT 17:29

RECENT NEWS

Ping An P&C And FAW Hongqi Launch Hongqi Intelligent Driving Protection Services

Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China (Ping An P&C), a subsidiary of Ping An Insurance, has pa... Read more

HKSTP European Innovation Mixer Tour Nurtures Global Ties For Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), led by CEO Albert Wong, conducted the HKSTP European In... Read more

The Full List Of Fintech Unicorns In Hong Kong (2025)

Hong Kong’s fintech landscape has evolved into a dynamic force in Asia, driven by regulatory innovation, technologica... Read more

HKSTPs EPIC 2025 Competition Returns, Doubling Investment Pool To US$100M

The 9th edition of the Elevator Pitch International Competition, also known as the EPIC 2025 competition, officially op... Read more

RedotPay Secures $40 Million Series A Funding, To Advance Global Crypto Payment Solutions

RedotPay secures $40 million Series A funding, marking a major milestone for the crypto payment platform. The announcem... Read more

BOOM Hits $2 Billion In AUM, Reinvesting Into Crypto And Tokenised Securities

BOOM, a Hong Kong-based online investing platform for high-net-worth individuals, announced on 12 March 2025 that it ex... Read more