HONG KONG • A Hong Kong teenager became the youngest person to plead guilty to rioting during 2019's huge pro-democracy protests as he admitted yesterday to hurling a petrol bomb at police.
This came as bail proceedings for 47 Hong Kong democracy activists charged with conspiracy to commit subversion entered a third day yesterday, following marathon hearings that have gone on late into the night and led to some defendants falling ill.
In the case of the teenager, the judge accepted advice from the city's correctional services and sent the 16-year-old boy to a detention centre - an alternative to prison for young offenders.
"The court must make a balance between society's interests and helping young offenders," District Judge Ernest Lin said.
The period of detention will be decided by the correctional services, with a minimum of one month and up to half a year.
The teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was 14 years old at the time of his arrest in November 2019. He was convicted of rioting and arson after pleading guilty and admitting to throwing a petrol bomb towards the police under the instruction of others.
Over 10,000 people have been arrested in relation to the pro-democracy demonstrations that upended the city. About 40 per cent of those arrested were students.
On Sunday, police arrested 47 of the city's best-known dissidents for "conspiracy to commit subversion" in the broadest use yet of the national security law. The law, imposed on the former British colony by China on June 30 last year, has outlawed much dissent.
Their alleged offence was organising an unofficial primary election last summer to choose candidates for the city's legislature, in the hopes that the pro-democracy bloc might take a majority and stymie government legislation.
With so many arrested at once, Hong Kong's judiciary has struggled to deal with the sheer caseload as well as the legal vagaries of the broadly worded security law, which removes the presumption of bail for non-violent crimes.
Yesterday, arguments for bail were heard for the legal teams of the last eight defendants.
Prosecutors have asked the court to remand the group into custody for the next three months to allow police time to continue to build their case against them.
"I think it'd be the largest batch of subversion cases since 1989," said professor of Chinese law Ling Bing at the University of Sydney, referencing the aftermath of Beijing's Tiananmen crackdown when scores of student leaders were prosecuted and jailed.
Hong Kong has also made its 100th arrest under the national security law. Former Next Digital executive director Stephen Ting was detained on fraud allegations, the Oriental Daily newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.
Police issued a statement on Tuesday confirming the arrest of a 61-year-old man "after in-depth investigation by national security department." But police did not name the person.
REUTERS, BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
