Four ex-student leaders jailed for 'glorifying' attack on police

Four former members of the student union of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) were sentenced to two years in prison for inciting others to wound police officers after they issued a statement supporting a man who stabbed a policeman before killing himself in 2021.

The defendants included the former student union president Charles Kwok Wing-ho, the former student union council chairman Kinson Cheung King-sang and two other student union representatives, Chris Todorovski Shing-hang and Anthony Yung Chung-hei. 

They issued a statement two years ago to mourn 50-year-old Leung Kin-fai, who stabbed a police officer with a knife before turning the weapon on himself on July 1 of the same year. The four later withdrew the statement with an apology.

The resolution came against the backdrop of widespread public anger against the police, who were condemned as being heavy-handed in quelling the 2019 pro-democracy protests. The authorities described Leung as a "lone wolf" domestic terrorist who was politically radicalized.

"The clashes between police and civilians have brought Hong Kong indelible trauma," Kwok wrote in his mitigation letter to the court. "Although society has resumed peacefulness, the trauma has not healed... I can't betray my conscience to say that after two years I have changed from resenting the police to supporting them." 

All four were initially arrested and charged in August 2021 with advocating terrorism under the national security law. They earlier pleaded not guilty to the charge but admitted to the incitement to wound with intent last month. The judge then dropped the terrorism charge.

"The defendants were abusing their powers as members of the Executive Committee," District Court Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching noted Monday when handing down the sentences. She added that the four had committed a very serious offense by inciting hatred against the police, and lenient sentencing would pass "a wrong message" to society.

She said the group had also used the student union council as a platform to "glorify the incident."