Hong Kong protests: founder of banned pro-independence party Andy Chan acquitted of unlawful assembly, assault charges after concerns raised over mistaken identity
- Andy Chan was accused of disrupting public order alongside 200 others and hitting a sergeant in the head in Sheung Shui on July 13 last year
- But West Kowloon Court Magistrate Lily Wong says prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt
A Hong Kong court has acquitted the founder of a banned pro-independence party of unlawful assembly and assaulting police during last year’s anti-government protests, citing the possibility the case involved mistaken identity.
Andy Chan Ho-tin was on Saturday cleared of the charges that stemmed from a demonstration in the border town of Sheung Shui on July 13, 2019. Chan was accused of disrupting public order alongside some 200 protesters and smacking a sergeant in the head.
West Kowloon Court Magistrate Lily Wong Sze-lai said the prosecution had failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, as pictures of the alleged offender submitted to the court were not clear enough to show he was Chan.
The lack of a qualified facial mapping expert who could prove the presence of the 30-year-old Hong Kong National Party founder at the scene also supported the defendant’s acquittal, Wong added.
The prosecution alleged Chan committed the offences that evening after an approved rally in Sheung Shui against mainland Chinese visitors and parallel traders came to a close.
