Hong Kong justice sentenced seven young people to prison on Friday July 15 for having tried in 2020 to flee by speedboat to Taiwan, while they were being prosecuted in the context of pro-democracy demonstrations.
The seven Hong Kongers, aged 19 to 32, were sentenced to up to ten months in prison for obstructing the course of justice.
This is the first time in Hong Kong that this charge has been applied to fugitives.
The defendants were part of a group of 12 who wanted to reach Taiwan in August 2020 amid heavy charges, including rioting, attempted arson and making explosives, related to the huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy demonstrations of 2019. Leaving from a beach by speedboat, they were intercepted by the Chinese coast guard, before disappearing into the opaque Chinese judicial system and finally being sentenced, behind closed doors closed, for illegally crossing the border from mainland China.
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“
Breaches of the law must be punished
”
Most of the fugitives were handed over to Hong Kong after several months in detention.
Judge Newman Wong ruled on Friday that the attempted escape had "
flouted and deliberately challenged
" the city's judicial administration.
The group of 12 and their accomplices developed a " vast and organized
" plan over six months
involving significant manpower, resources and finances, the magistrate said.
Some defendants had taken lessons to learn how to drive a speedboat.
“
It is unfortunate that I have to sentence what is supposed to be a group of enterprising young people to prison
,” the judge said.
"
But violations of the law must be punished
."
Two members of the group of 12 are still serving prison terms in mainland China.
Relatives of one of them, Tang Kai-yin, say they haven't received a letter from him since February.
His prison expense record, which can be viewed online, has not been updated since May, his brother told Hong Kong media, adding he was worried about Tang's treatment.
The other Hong Konger in prison in mainland China, Quinn Moon, is due to be released in August.
More than 180 people have been arrested since a national security law imposed by Beijing took effect in June 2020 and 110 of them have been prosecuted.