Man wearing umbrella shirt arrested after barging into courtroom, injuring security

A man wearing a shirt with a yellow umbrella logo was arrested after barging into a courtroom at the High Court, injuring a security staff member.  

The man was attending a court hearing of property agent So Kwong-tat, who is appealing his conviction and 32-month sentence for possession of weapons and criminal damage back in 2019.   

Upon hearing that another visitor wearing a black shirt with a yellow umbrella logo was barred from entering the court, he questioned whether the order to ban the shirt came from the judge or the security staff.  

He decided to change into the same shirt and reenter the courtroom but was also stopped by security. "People dressed in these shirts cannot enter the court," "If you wear this shirt, the judge wants you to leave," the staffers told him.  

The man ignored the instructions and forced open the courtroom door at around 11.37am, demanding an answer from the judge, Alex Lee Wan-tang. The judge adjourned the court hearing, and a female staff member who wanted to stop the man had her right elbow injured during the fiasco. She did not plan to go to the hospital at first but went in an ambulance later at her colleagues' insistence.  

At least 14 police officers arrived at the scene. They questioned the suspect for half an hour and later arrested him for common assault at 1.30pm.  

In the original court case, the 39-year-old So was jailed for having a folded knife and grandmaster key on him when he walked past Sau Mau Ping Disciplined Services Quarters on August 5, 2019. Another 50 knives and an air gun were found in his home a day later.   

His appeal hearing has been adjourned to January 4, 2022, and he is granted bail before his next court appearance.