By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong court convicted on Tuesday prominent social worker Jackie Chen of rioting, following a retrial after the government appealed against her initial acquittal.
Chen pleaded not guilty and declined to testify during her retrial on a rioting charge related to an incident in 2019 when she used a megaphone to urge police to exercise restraint as pro-democracy protests swirled in the China-ruled city.
“Don’t worry. Take care of yourselves,” Chen, clad in white sweatshirt and trousers, told relatives and supporters after Deputy District Judge May Chung found her guilty, following the retrial ordered by the Court of Appeal.
In her verdict, Chung said she considered Chen’s remarks would “indeed encourage the protesters to continue to confront the police” and “encourage them to continue to engage in acts that disrupt or threaten to breach the peace”.
She had initially been cleared of the rioting charge by District Court Judge Sham Siu-man in 2020, on the grounds that prosecutors had failed to make out a case against her, but the Justice Department appealed against that ruling.
Before Tuesday’s verdict, Chen said she had prepared for the worst, saying she was only trying to mitigate tensions that day.
“I hope everyone can remain kind, conscientious and safeguard justice,” Chen told Reuters.
While awaiting the verdict, she continued to work as a social worker and supported others being prosecuted.
Five character witnesses had vouched for her social work and disaster relief efforts including after the South Asian tsunami in 2004 and 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
Chen, a member of the Battlefield Social Worker group during the 2019 protests, was frequently seen with a loudhailer, liaising between protesters and police officers, monitoring police action and offering emotional support to people.
Hong Kong passed a bill last year allowing its Social Workers Registration Board to disqualify social workers convicted of national security offences, among others that could bring the profession “into disrepute”.
The conviction could cost Chen her licence as a social worker.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and James Pomfret; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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