Ousted lawmaker guilty of assaulting police with bullhorn

HONG KONG - An ousted opposition camp lawmaker was convicted on Monday of assaulting two police officers with a bullhorn during a protest in July.

Former lawmaker Au Nok-hin, 32, was charged with assaulting the officers, Constable Kwan Chi-ho and Superintendent Ko Chun-pong, after an anti-government assembly in Yau Ma Tei on July 8.

Au had intervened as a "mediator" in the confrontation between police and radical protesters. Then he beat Kwan's anti-riot shield with a bullhorn three times while disparaging the officer with a local term that mocked the officer's education level.

In the video of the incident that was played in court, Kwan was seen clutching his shield while Au attacked him.

Au also used the bullhorn to scold Ko, of the Hong Kong Police Public Relations Branch, at close range, giving Ko physical discomfort that affected his sleep and hearing. Medical reports showed Ko suffered a temporary sudden hearing loss after the incident.

In passing the sentence at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts, Magistrate Leung Ka-kie pointed out that video showed that Ko had repeatedly pushed Au's bullhorn aside and told him to stop, suggesting that Au had used the bullhorn too close to Ko, past the normal range that a listener can endure.

Leung dismissed the defendant's explanation that Au had hit Kwan's shield to attract attention and stop the operation. Leung said that if Au was attempting to mediate, he should have negotiated with the officers' superiors instead of voicing his demands directly to front-line officers.

Au is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24. Until then, he is free on bail.

Au and another opposition lawmaker, Gary Fan Kwok-wai, lost their seats in the Legislative Council in December following a High Court ruling that they had been unduly elected in a by-election in 2018. Their appeals against the decision were rejected by the Court of Final Appeal that month.