Former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting’s identity as a public figure should not affect his sentence for a rioting conviction relating to a mob attack in Yuen Long in 2019, his lawyer has said in pleading for a shorter jail term for Lam.
At the District Court on Wednesday, defence counsel Catherine Wong asked district judge Stanley Chan to consider that Lam believed he had a duty to de-escalate tensions at the Yuen Long MTR station on July 21, 2019, when more than a hundred men dressed in white stormed the station.
The attack left 45 people injured, including journalists, protesters, and commuters, as well as Lam, who was last month found guilty of rioting alongside six others after Chan ruled that he had tried to take advantage of the attack to benefit politically.
The attack came to be known as the “721 incident,” marking a key moment in the 2019 protests. Police were accused of turning a blind eye to the incident as hundreds of emergency calls went unanswered.
At Wednesday’s mitigation hearing, Wong said the fact that Lam was a known public figure did not have anything to do with the rioting case and should not have any bearing on his sentence.
Public figure
Wong submitted that the starting point for Lam’s sentence should not be longer than three years and six months, the sentence handed to Wong Ying-kit, one of the white-clad men jailed in June 2021 for his role in the Yuen Long attack.
See also: Ex-lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting among 7 found guilty of rioting in Yuen Long 2019 attacks
Chan, however, asked why Lam should be subject to the same standard as the in white man, who was not a public figure.
Wong said that while some people in the vicinity had looked to Lam for help because they recognised him as a lawmaker, that had nothing to do with his conviction for rioting.
“As for whether or not the situation escalated because [Lam] was a known figure, one has to look at what he did or did not do,” Wong said in Cantonese, adding that Lam had tried to ease tensions by urging people not to attack. “Although he was in danger himself, he tried to protect people.”
Lam’s lawyer on Wednesday also read out parts of mitigation letters written for Lam, including one from one of his former supervisors at Hong Kong’s antigraft watchdog, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
He was described as being “full of strength, honesty and integrity, with ideals and vigour.” Even after he left the ICAC, he still cared about the interests of the public, and “he still does his utmost to help the public by any means,” the supervisor said.
Wong also submitted Lam’s donation records to the court, saying that he had donated some HK$73,000 to charities, churches and schools since 2014.
Wong also read out Lam’s own mitigation plea, in which he wrote: “The hardest thing isn’t being in jail, it’s the fact that, because of my past decisions, my family also has to bear this difficult situation.”
Lam also said it was not easy seeing his elderly parents come all the way to Stanley Prison, especially when he was not sure how many visits they had left. He said he was thankful for the support of his family and friends, especially his wife, and would continue to live out each day well, though he had no idea when he will be free.
Chan then asked whether Lam’s lawyer agreed that Lam’s mitigation did not express remorse, to which the defence counsel replied that Lam had accepted the court’s ruling and was “doing what he thought he had to do.”
The ex-lawmaker will be sentenced on February 27.
Lam has been detained since 2021 when he was charged in the city’s largest national security case. He pleaded not guilty to conspiring to commit subversion over his role in a primary poll, and was last November sentenced to six years and nine months in jail after being convicted in May.
