2019 protests: 6 seek appeals for obstructing justice over PolyU campus bridge escape

Six individuals who rappelled from a bridge and fled a campus occupied by police during Hong Kong's 2019 pro-democracy protests are requesting permission to appeal their convictions for obstructing justice. The High Court will hear their case within six months. The six defendants, Ng Wai-nam, Leung Wing-yan, Lau Shuk-wa, Tom Wong, Lam Yam-to, and Lai Ching-yin, were found guilty and sentenced to prison after fleeing in vehicles during the campus siege.

Their lawyers argue that accepting transportation should not be considered obstructing justice. Senior Counsel Marco Li, representing Ng and Wong, contends that getting into a vehicle is not a deliberate act of perverting justice, comparing it to robbers entering a getaway car. Barristers Yvonne Leung and Steven Kwan argue there is no footage of their clients performing the actions charged.

They also question the sufficiency of the prosecution's evidence, including medical records of injuries sustained from the rope descent. Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Ivan Cheung argues that the defendants were acting in concert with the drivers from the moment they rappelled from the bridge. Judge Andrew Chan notes that vehicles may have been at the scene due to their inability to make a U-turn, and also cites the trial judge's verdict that the boarding of vehicles involved a "division of labour" with a common purpose of evading arrest.