HK student activists jailed for contempt of court

The city’s High Court on Wednesday ordered imprisonment and fines for 16 protesters in the illegal Occupy movement in 2014, including the student activist leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung, for refusing to obey a court order to clear the occupied areas.

They were all sentenced to terms ranging from one month to four and a half months, with some fined HK$10,000 or HK$15,000, the court ordered. Wong was sentenced to three months in jail.

All of them refused to leave the occupied area despite a court injunction sought by local taxi groups. Consequently, they were all guilty of criminal contempt of court.

The 79-day illegal mass occupation led to a community outcry after the protesters took over major business thoroughfares in the city’s Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok areas.

(CHINA DAILY)