Yuen Long MTR assault in broad daylight ‘unheard of in HK history’, says Lam Cheuk-ting

Former Hong Kong opposition lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, who was charged with rioting at a railway station during the 2019 protests, told the District Court that he never thought the white-shirted gangsters would have dared assault passers-by inside the MTR station in broad daylight.

Lam continued defending his charge on Wednesday for the second day, recounting the ominous premonitions that led him to the Yuen Long MTR station on the night of July 21, 2019.

On that day, over 100 rod-wielding men dressed in white stormed the station and indiscriminately attacked passers-by, leaving 45 people injured, including Lam.

He recalled that he never wanted to go to Yuen Long that day, especially since there were rumors that anyone dressed in black - the color favored by anti-government protesters - would risk getting assaulted in the area.

He also noted that he was reminded by a Yuen Long District Councilor not to leave the MTR station, to which he agreed was the safest option to observe the events as a Legislative Councilor.

He described the planned attack by gangsters that day as “unprecedented” and “unheard of in Hong Kong history”.

Evidence presented in court showed Lam arriving at the station that day with fellow party members Kelvin Sin Cheuk-nam and Winfield Chong Wing-fai.

Lam said before he, Sin and Wong disembarked from the MTR train at Yuen Long station, passengers on the train had already seen information online that a large group of white-shirted men were assembling. Passengers on the platform also requested his assistance claiming “an assault is underway” inside the station’s lobby.

Video evidence played in court saw Lam had on multiple occasions urged passengers inside the paid area not to go outside of the gate, Lam was also heard telling the white-shirted men to calm down and stop the fighting.

He explained that he took such actions after he received a photo of a man’s lacerated back, with a Yuen Long street view in the background. Some passengers at the scene were also seen bleeding from the head, he added.

The District Court judge, Stanley Chan Kwong-chi, earlier ruled Lam had a case to answer after he found the prosecution had provided sufficient evidence to accuse Lam of instigating the alleged mob violence.

The other six defendants standing trial have indicated that they intend to take to the stand.