Hong Kong man gets 21 months in prison for throwing eggs at police HQ during 2019 protests

A Hong Kong court on November 26 sentenced a 31-year-old man to 21 months in prison for throwing eggs at police headquarters during last year's protests. Pun Ho-Chiu has been jailed by the Hong Kong court over charges of property damage, unauthorised assembly, and seven counts of assault. Magistrate Winnie Lau Yee-wan, who heard Pun's case, noted that eggs were not "weapons" and no one was harmed during the incident, but added it may have encouraged others to do the same. 

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Pun took part in the demonstrations outside Wan Chai police headquarters in June last year, which were taking place over the extradition bill that was pushed by mainland China but was later withdrawn after protests intensified. According to reports, another man was sentenced to four years in September for taking part in the same protests. The 26-year-old construction worker was convicted of rioting and common assault. 

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This comes after activists Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam, and Agnes Chow pleaded guilty on Monday for organising and taking part in unauthorised protests that took place last year in June. The three pro-democracy activists face a jail term of up to five years for their role in last year's protests. According to the report, Chow had already decided to plead guilty, while Wong and Lam had planned to challenge the charges. However, on Monday, all three activists pleaded guilty before their trial began.

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Hong Kong unrest

The situation in Hong Kong has remained hostile since the mid-last year after millions of people took to the street to protest against an extradition bill, which later turned into a pro-democracy movement. Mainland China introduced the controversial national security law in June this year and arrested several people under what critics argue is a draconian law. So far, an estimated 10,000 people have been arrested in cases related to the ongoing protests. 

Read: China Says 'Five Eyes' Should Face Reality On Hong Kong

(With inputs from ANI, Image Credit: AP)