A 53-year-old man has been jailed for six months after pleading guilty in the District Court to taking part in an unlawful assembly in Mong Kok in 2019 and using a face covering to conceal his identity during the assembly.
He was acquitted in 2021. The Department of Justice appealed, and the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in May 2026, sending the case back to the District Court. At the first hearing after it was returned, the man pleaded guilty, avoiding a retrial.
The sentencing judge set starting points of eight months for unlawful assembly and eight weeks for using a face covering during an unlawful assembly. Although the plea came after the earlier trial, the judge gave a 25% reduction because of the unusual history of the case and the timing of the plea.
In assessing the seriousness of the assembly, the judge cited at least 100 people gathered in the area of Nathan Road and Shantung Street, objects including bricks blocking the road, and bricks that could be picked up and thrown. He said the gathering posed a real and imminent threat to public peace. He accepted there was no evidence the man organised or led the gathering, or confronted police, but considered his protest equipment evidence he had prepared to take part. The reduced sentences ran concurrently, leaving a total term of six months.