Hong Kong activist wins appeal against riot conviction after trial judge’s error
Court quashes Alvin Cheng’s conviction after trial judge allowed prosecutors to alter their allegations midway through proceedings
A former Hong Kong political activist has won an appeal against a riot conviction due to an error by the trial judge in allowing prosecutors to substantially alter their allegations midway through proceedings.
Cheng, who now runs a logistics company, was an assistant to former opposition lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai.
He was among eight people accused of perverting the course of justice in November 2019 by helping protesters escape arrest by driving them away from the scene of the riot.
At the District Court trial in 2022, prosecutors were unable to provide evidence as to when and where Cheng entered the underground sewage tunnel, nor could they show that the accused had also aided others in their escape.
Deputy judge Andy Cheng Lim-chi allowed the belated addition of a rioting charge against the former activist, after questioning how a “rioter” could be found guilty of obstructing justice simply by accepting the help offered by his supporters.