7th June 2023 – (Hong Kong) A suspect in the 2019 Tsuen Wan riot, Tsang Chi Kin, who was shot afterwards, along with three other suspects in the case, jumped bail and went into hiding. They were arrested last July at the Sai Kung pier while attempting to flee to Taiwan and were charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. Yesterday, one of the 17-year-old male suspects in the case expressed his intention to plead guilty in court, while the trial for Tsang Chi Kin and another defendant has been scheduled for 28th September.
The 5 defendants aged 17-34 are accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice in Hong Kong between October 2020 and July 2022. Specifically, they are alleged to have engaged in acts that tended to pervert the course of justice, with the intention of obstructing and interfering with the judicial jurisdiction of the courts in the criminal proceedings against the aforementioned defendants.
Yesterday, defence counsel for one of the defendants indicated that their client intends to plead guilty and mentioned that he had also been involved in the attack on undercover police officers in Tseung Kwan O on 13th October, 2019. The defendant had already pleaded guilty in that case and postponed sentencing to 9th October, hoping that the two cases could be handled together. However, the judge rejected the defence’s proposal, stating that it would unnecessarily burden the presiding judge and scheduled his plea for 28th September, when Tsang Chi Kin and another defendant will also enter their pleas. Two other defendants will enter their plea on 23rd August and 4th October respectively.