Hong Kong court acquits woman over possessing laser pointers in 2019
A Hong Kong court has acquitted a woman of possessing a weapon when protests were taking place in a neighbouring district in 2019, after she was re-arrested upon returning to the city from Australia earlier this year. Ami Chan was found not guilty of both charges of possessing an offensive weapon and possessing an item […]
A woman from Hong Kong, Ami Chan, has been acquitted of charges related to possessing laser pointers in 2019 during protest activity in a neighboring district. Chan was re-arrested earlier this year upon returning to the city from Australia and faced charges of carrying an offensive weapon and possessing an item with intent to destroy or damage property.
Magistrate Edward Wong ruled that Chan was not present in the area where the protests were taking place when she was initially arrested in Fortress Hill. The prosecution had argued that Chan could be found near the protests due to her movements eastward, but Wong stated that the demonstrations were actually occurring in Admiralty and Wan Chai, not Fortress Hill.
Chan, who was 15 years old at the time of her initial arrest and 21 when charged this year, was found not guilty of the charges by Wong, who noted that she was simply walking on the street, unlike other defendants who were carrying potential weapons.
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