Social News
Written by: Lu Leqian
2021-03-31 20:23
The last update date: 2021-03-31 20:23
"Quiebi" Tan Dezhi was charged with 14 charges including publishing seditious texts. The case will start in the District Court in May. However, the defense questioned that the case should not be heard in the District Court. Today (31st) he applied for suspension of the hearing. News.
Senior Counsel Dai Qisi, who represented Tan, stated that the provisions used to accuse Tan should be heard in the Court of First Instance, but the prosecution insisted that the case could be tried in the District Court.
Judge Chen Guangchi adjourned the case until April 9 for a ruling on this application.
Tan needs to continue to pay.
When Tan was escorted back to the prison, his supporters shouted supportive statements to him and asked him what his meals were in prison.
Tan responded by saying that the corn and pork rice in prison was difficult to eat, causing laughter among supporters.
Tan involved 14 crimes in 3 cases
Tan Dezhi was involved in three cases. The first case alleged that he distributed anti-epidemic supplies in Causeway Bay on May 24 last year and was accused of holding or convening unauthorized public gatherings, disrupting order in public places, refusing to comply or deliberately neglecting to comply with authorized personnel 4 crimes such as making orders and publishing seditious texts.
In the second case, Tan was charged with 5 counts of publishing sedition and 1 count of publishing seditious texts and slogans for displaying "Five Major Appeals" and "The Black Policeman Kills the Whole Family" at many street stations from March to July last year. There are 7 counts of the crime of disturbing order in public places and 1 count of conspiracy to publish sedition.
The third case alleges that Tan appealed to the audience to participate in an unauthorized assembly at the Tai Po Waterfront Park Amphitheatre on January 17 last year, charged with inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly and publishing sedition; and on January 19 Leading a crowd outside Sogo Department Store in Causeway Bay to make abusive remarks to police officers, disturbing order, and charged with disturbing order in public places, totaling 3 crimes.
Tan Dezhi was arrested at Baijie Station several times last year. (See the picture below for details)
Three challenges include the lack of jurisdiction of the district court
Tan’s lawyers today raised three challenges, including the District Court’s lack of jurisdiction to hear the case, the prosecution’s abuse of monitoring procedures, and the request for the prosecution to provide further details of the charges.
During the trial, Judge Chen Guangchi said that he should deal with the issue of jurisdiction first. If he does not have the right to deal with this case, he does not need to deal with the other two challenges.
The prosecution insists that there is no indictable crime
Senior Counsel Dai Qisi, representing Tan Dezhi, stated that according to Article 88 of the Magistrates Ordinance and Part 3 of Schedule 2, Tan’s charges of publishing seditious writing can only be tried by the Court of First Instance of the High Court. The District Court has no power to process the application.
Zhou Tianxing, the assistant criminal prosecutor on behalf of the prosecution, countered that the ordinance only applies to indictable crimes, but the accusation against Tan’s crime of publishing sedition does not contain the term "indictable crime" and is only a summary crime. He believes that the defense has said invalid.
The defense refers to incitement to national security-related categories
However, Dai Qisi said that according to the decision of the Court of Final Appeal in the case of Li Zhiying, the crime of incitement is a crime in the category of national security. According to Article 41 of the National Security Law, all crimes involving national security must be prosecuted.
Therefore, Tan Xian’s charge of "inciting others to make literary crimes" must involve national security and is an indictable crime. Article 88 of the Magistrates Ordinance is therefore applicable, insisting that it should be tried by the Court of First Instance; Zhou Tianxing said, " The National Security Law has not changed the distinction between summary crimes and indictable crimes in Hong Kong’s criminal procedures. The provisions of the National Security Law should not be ignored in the disputes in this case.
Questioning the prosecution's abuse of the prosecution process
The two parties also had a slight dispute over the term abuse of judicial procedures. Dai Qisi pointed out that Tan was charged with 14 charges in 3 cases. There was no indictable crime in one of the cases. It was originally supposed to stay in the Magistrates’ Court for trial. The case was handed over to the District Court, and a crime of "conspiracy to publish seditious writing" was imposed on Tan Tou, and the case was also transferred to the District Court for trial, which was an abuse of prosecution procedures.
Zhou Tianxing said that when the Attorney General chooses to charge a crime, it only judges on facts, and it does not include the element of playing tricks.
Chen Guan interrupted the mention of Guoanfa
Dai Qisi also mentioned that the "National Security Law" was not drafted in Hong Kong; Chen Guan interrupted his statement and asked Dai to focus on the legal aspect; Dai pointed out that he was only making a statement of facts, and Chen Guan interrupted again, believing that this was the case. The statement is a political statement, and it also refers to respecting Dai as an industry leader, Senior Counsel, and former chairman of the Bar Association, and hoping that he will abide by the rules.
Case No.: DCCC927, 928, 930/2020
"Quickly" Tan Dezhishe published a seditious text and remanded it until the trial judge appointed in May next year.
"Quabi" Tan Dezhi involved in publishing seditious texts, it is clear that the judge of the National Security Law will handle the dispute
Tan Dezhi applies for termination of hearing, Chen Zhiquan approves "literal prison" as violation of the Basic Law
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Tan Dezhi incited the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law Court