Hong Kong man jailed for petrol bomb offences during 2019 social unrest and for trying to escape justice by fleeing in boat to Taiwan

“The judiciary system was different, and the defendant was facing a different charge as well, so the jail term on the mainland is not directly related to this case,” Lin told the court.

“It was self-inflicted and provided no ground to reduce the sentence.”

The court earlier heard police had seized enough material to make 16 petrol bombs from an Airbnb flat in Wan Chai on September 30, 2019 and arrested Tang and four other people.

Lin said it was organised criminal activity that involved a clear division of labour.

He added Tang had played a leading role as planner, delegated tasks, recruited people, and arranged testing of bombs.

“Although the case only involved 16 petrol bombs, the material could easily be bought from stores,” Lin said.

“That they did not make even more petrol bombs was the result of successful police intelligence work, not because they exercised restraint.”

“It could be inferred that the defendants produced petrol bombs intending to create chaos, panic and confront police during protests, so the sentence must carry a deterrent effect.”

Hong Kong man pleads guilty over role in thwarted boat escape to Taiwan

Lin said he had set 51 months as the starting point for sentence on the petrol bomb charge, but reduced it to 34 months because of Tang’s guilty plea.

The court heard the arrests in connection with the petrol bombs led Tang to plan an escape attempt in December 2019 involving himself and 11 others who also faced charges linked to the protests.

But the attempt failed after the boat was intercepted by mainland Chinese coastguards on August 23, 2020 as it made for Taiwan.

Tang was the last of the 12 to be released by mainland authorities after he pleaded guilty in a Shenzhen court to the organisation of the illegal border crossing bid.

Lin said Tang had also played a leading role in the escape attempt and was involved in the buying of the boat, planning the route and delegating tasks.

Last member of fugitive group of 12 caught at sea in 2020 deported to Hong Kong

“The defendant had no seafaring experience or licence, and only took an eight-hour theory and practice class,” Lin added.

“But he still pressed ahead with the trip, endangering the life of himself and the others on the boat … posing danger to other vessels in the sea as well,” he added.

Lin adopted 18 months as the starting point of sentencing, and reduced it to 12 months because Tang pleaded guilty to the charge.

Another eight people involved in the escape bid were earlier sentenced in a separate court appearance to 10 to 18 months in jail for perverting the course of justice.

Lin ordered the two sentences to run consecutively – a total jail term of 46 months.