Former Hong Kong opposition lawmakers jailed for causing council meeting ruckus

Two former Hong Kong opposition lawmakers have been jailed for up to 16 days for their roles in causing a ruckus during a Legislative Council meeting on a contentious extradition bill which the administration later scrapped amid citywide protests.

Ex-legislator Eddie Chu Hoi-dick was sentenced to 14 days in jail for his role in the incident, while his former colleague Raymond Chan Chi-chuen was given 16 days imprisonment.

The pair were involved in the 2019 incident, in which lawmakers hoped to stall proceedings of a committee scrutinising a contentious extradition bill.

At the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court, Chu pleaded guilty to four counts of assaulting, obstructing or molesting a member within the precincts of the Chamber, while Chan pleaded guilty to two counts of the same charge.

Former pan-democratic lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting also stood trial for the incident on Tuesday, but pleaded not guilty. His case has been scheduled to be heard at the magistrate in September.

In handing down his sentence, Acting Principal Magistrate Cheng Lim-chi said that that the behaviour of the two defendants obstructed people, adding that although no one was seriously injured, the meeting had to be stopped.