Man jailed over Prince Edward MTR Station protest

A man was jailed for two years and 10 months on Monday after pleading guilty to rioting during a protest in February last year.

Nou Jeffrey, 21, who is a former Hong Kong Kabaddi team member, was part of a group of people who threw objects at a police officer as they marked the force’s storming of Prince Edward MTR Station on August 31, 2019.

The officer was surrounded by protesters at one point and drew his gun, but didn’t fire it.

District Court judge Frankie Yiu said the protesters chased after the officer and the incident was caught on camera.

The judge said rioting is a serious offence, but he had reduced the sentence in light of the fact that the defendant has Asperger’s and a hyperactivity disorder.

“The court considers that the defendant was not a leader [in the riot], and that his illness affected his judgement at the scene,” the judge said.

Yiu also noted that the defendant had a clean record, and said he had factored in the comments of support from the man’s family, sports associations and others.