The Chinese University of Hong Kong protesters attempted to paralyse the Tolo Highway by occupying an overpass on campus at the height of the 2019 anti-China extradition bill protests.
Five former Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) students have each been sentenced to close to five years in prison after they were convicted of rioting at the institution’s campus in 2019.
Handing down the sentences on Tuesday, Deputy District Court Judge Kathie Cheung said she agreed with the prosecution that the CUHK clashes were akin to a “war zone.”
Four men – Lau Chun-yuk, Ko Chi-pan, Chan Lik-sik and Hui Yi-Chuen – received prison terms of four years and nine months, while one woman – Foo Hoi-ching – was sentenced to four years and 11 months in jail.
The five were convicted earlier in September of participating in a riot on November 1 1, 2019 at CUHK near its No. 2 Bridge – an overpass at the edge of the campus in Sha Tin, overlooking the Tolo Highway and MTR tracks.
That day, protesters and students attempted to paralyse the major expressway by occupying the overpass and throwing objects to obstruct traffic below as part of the 2019 city-wide anti-China extradition bill demonstrations. Intense clashes continued into the night as police seized the bridge firing tear gas and projectiles, whilst protesters hurled bricks and petrol bombs.
