Hong Kong 47: Benny Tai’s pre-security law actions relevant for sentencing, judges say
Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wing told West Kowloon Court the case involved a “very lengthy and premeditated” plan to violate the security legislation.
The Beijing-imposed national security law was enacted on June 30, 2020, just before the primary took place on July 11 and 12.
He added the poll was part of the opposition’s scheme to paralyse the government through the indiscriminate use of lawmakers’ vetoing power to strike down its financial budgets.
The court ruled in its verdict last month that the move could have paralysed the government and created a constitutional crisis.
“That’s the beginning of a chain reaction. You cannot simply artificially divide the whole thing into two,” Chan told Stewart Wong Kai-ming SC, who was advancing pleas of mitigation on Tai’s behalf.
Mr Justice Alex Lee Wan-tang also suggested the court had to take past events into account to ascertain the scale of the “territory-wide campaign”.
Beijing has imposed a three-tier system in classifying offenders found guilty of subversion.
Principal offenders or those committing crimes of a “grave nature” can face life imprisonment or be jailed for at least 10 years.
Those deemed to have “actively” participated in the offence can be sentenced to between three and 10 years.
Other participants can face a maximum of three years in jail, short-term detention or restrictions on movement.
Tai’s legal representative on Tuesday asked the judges to categorise the former law professor into the lowest tier and sentence him to two years imprisonment after considering mitigating circumstances, including his timely guilty plea.
The prosecution, however, is seeking a minimum of 10 years in jail for those organising the primary, saying a leader such as Tai should be regarded as a principal offender as a matter of “common sense”.
The court convicted 14 of 16 accused who pleaded not guilty to the offence, and 31 others admitted the charge before the trial began early last year.