Hong Kong protests: 2 students imprisoned for rioting over Chinese University clash

District court judge Clement Lee Hing-nin convicted the two of rioting and using face coverings at an unlawful assembly on the Number 2 Bridge and Campus Circuit East at CUHK, reports The Standard.

Cheung Chun-ho, 20, an Institute of Vocational Education student, was jailed for four years and six months while Tang Hei-man, 25, a Chinese University student got three years and nine months. They were on trial with two other defendants, reports the newspaper.

Judge Clement Lee Hing-nin rejected a request from 20-year-old Cheung, who was found to have hurled objects at police that afternoon, that he serve time in a correctional facility in lieu of jail.

Lee said the need for a deterrent sentence to protect law enforcement officers and the general public outweighed the defendant’s personal circumstances, despite his young age, reports South China Morning Post.

Lee said a jail term was also warranted in the case of Tang, 25, who was found to have abetted the violence that day through her black attire and 13-minute presence at the scene, even though she was not caught committing any violent acts.

A third defendant, CUHK student Chan Hey-hang, 23, was also imprisoned for two months for violating the mask ban that day.