Hong Kong man wins appeal on self-incrimination charge in Yuen Long attack case

The court also upheld the seven-year prison sentence imposed on suspect Tang Wai-sum for “damaging the rule of law”, given his substantial role in the attack.

Wednesday’s ruling followed the appeals court’s first substantive investigation into the nature and severity of one of the most divisive chapters of the protests.

More than 100 men in white, many of them armed with rattan and wooden sticks, stormed the train station, wounding at least 45 people. They claimed they were protecting their homes from the “invading” protesters.

Defendants Wong Ying-kit and Lam Koon-leung, both 53, and Lam Kai-ming, 48, have either withdrawn their appeals or have not filed an appeal.

Judge Derek Pang Wai-cheong, who wrote the verdict on behalf of the court on Wednesday, echoed Judge Eddie Yip Chor-man’s comment that the group of white-clad men had supplanted the role of law enforcement through their actions.

“More formally, what (the men in white) did was to render the law worthless and harm the rule of law,” Pang wrote.

He admitted that the men in white were the ones who had instigated the violence outside the MTR station and during the subsequent attacks inside the building in the early morning of July 22. However, he noted that their victims dressed in black were not free from blame either.

Pang pointed out that the black-clad group did not just “suffer in silence” during a conflict in the nearby village of Ying Lung Wai, cursing their attackers and trying to resist their advances.

“They responded not only verbally but also physically, so much so that people can hardly tell from the visual evidence which side started the fight,” he said.

Pang said the trial judge made a mistake by asking Choi to use certain body language in court so prosecutors could identify the attacker captured on video.

He added that the evidence against Choi was not so overwhelming that anyone would convict him despite the judge’s error.

The appeals court, however, ruled that Wong’s acquittal on the basis of possible misidentification was “perverse” and without fully considering incriminating circumstantial evidence.

The judges rejected the claims of the other three appellants that they either wanted to defuse the situation, acted in self-defence or were merely bystanders.

Wong was asked to return to the district court in mid-October so the judge could reconsider the sentence.

Of the seven men who were imprisoned, all but Tang Wai-sum have served their sentences. Tang is expected to be eligible for parole in early 2026.