Global Times’ reporter Fu Guohao was attacked at Hong Kong airport in August 2019.
A Hong Kong District Court judge handed down a verdict on Friday (Jan. 8) in the case of an attack on a reporter for the Chinese official media Global Times, Fu Guohao, at the Hong Kong airport in August 2019, sentencing three defendants to prison terms ranging from four years and three months to five and a half years.
According to Hong Kong media reports, the “Fu Guohao assault case” involved three men and one woman, two of the men Lai Yunlong and He Jia Le were convicted of “assault causing bodily harm” and “participation in a riot”, while the female defendant Bi Hui Fen was convicted of three counts, respectively, illegal confinement, assault causing bodily harm, and participation in a riot.
Another male defendant, Wong Yat-ho, was earlier found not guilty on two counts because he wore a face mask covering his face in video evidence collected by the court and could not be identified, preventing the judge from sentencing him.
District Judge Li Qingnian found three of the men guilty on Wednesday (Jan. 6) and handed down sentences today, including five years and three months in prison for Lai Yun-long, five years and six months for Ho Kar-fai and four years and three months for Bi Hui-fen. The company has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison for its involvement in the 2016 Mong Kok riots.
It is reported that the regional judge Li Qingnian said this morning in court on the case will only consider the law and evidence, will not be mixed with political factors. Li Qingnian said the defendant’s behavior towards the subject is very crazy and very insulting and aggressive, the incident has damaged the reputation of Hong Kong as a peaceful demonstration capital.
“The attack on Fu Guohao occurred on the night of August 13, 2019, when a large number of protesters responded to the call of the anti-China movement “Fly with You” and gathered at the Hong Kong International Airport to demonstrate.
During the demonstration, the protesters suspected Fu’s identity as a journalist and asked him to show his press card, but Fu ignored them and ran away. Fu was then dragged to a luggage cart by three defendants, bound with plastic zipper ties, and shined with a laser pointer and other bright lights. During that time, Fu was beaten and all of his belongings were taken.
The protesters said they searched Fu’s bag and found a short sleeve with the slogan “I Love Hong Kong Police” and attacked him.
After the incident, Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times, said on Weibo that Fu Guohao was employed by its “Global Network” and that he did not have a press card because it takes a long time to obtain one in mainland China, and many frontline media workers do not have one.
In addition, 55 pan-democrats, including former Hong Kong Democratic Party Chairman Wu Chi-wai, were arrested by Hong Kong police on Jan. 6 on charges of “subversion of state power. As of today, the arrestees have been released on bail, but Wu is still in custody for allegedly violating a bail condition imposed late last year.
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