[Interview] Advert Designer imprisoned for possessing two cans of Spray Paint; Fiancée—Justice no longer exists. Trial verdict only depends on luck

According to The Stand News, there were 247 cases of possession charges, such as possession of offensive weapons in a public place, possession of any object with intent to destroy or damage property, etc.. More than 60% of the cases ended up having the charges dismissed or with binding over. Only 17% of the defendants were found guilty.

In the 17% of cases tried and convicted, 23-year-old Chun Man was the first person to be sentenced to imprisonment for possession of spray paint.

Chun Man was charged with assault on police officer and possession of two cans of spray paint in Central last November and was convicted after a trial. He was sentenced to 45 days imprisonment for assaulting a police officer and 4 months and 15 days for possession of two spray paints. The magistrate said the two charges were different in nature and insisted that the sentences to be served consecutively, with the final sentence being 5 months and 15 days.

The magistrate dismissed the court. Before the court officer could finish saying "Court", the defense attorney made a bail appeal. The magistrate, who had just stood up, sat back on his chair, flipped one or two pages of the documents on the table, spat out the phrase "bail application turned down" and left.

“Court—“

Bella (pseudonym), Chun Man's fiancée, and her family could not make it to the prisoner's bar to bid farewell. In a matter of seconds, he was quickly pushed into the holding cell by the court officer. The lawyers and the public dispersed, leaving the courtroom empty with only Bella's sobbing and the backpack she was holding tightly in her hand, which belonged to Chun Man.

“This person is about to (leave) in front of me… At that moment, I could feel we would be separated far away.”

The "fiancée” in the plea letter

In Bella's eyes, Chun Man was a boy cheerful like sun-shine and occasionally had a bit of temper. In their three years of dating, he took good care of her, and Bella laughed that she was spoiled like a "Kong Girl" with no her arms and legs. 

After being arrested, Chun Man gave Bella a ring. Bella said with a sweet smile, "He said he was scared that I would leave and used the ring to keep me." A month before the verdict came, the lawyer suddenly told the two of them to do whatever they wanted to do as soon as possible. The two were like being diagnosed a "terminal illness". They spent every moment together. "Of course we couldn’t know the worst case scenario but the lawyer had an idea."

One day, Bella wrote a plea letter for Chun Man who timidly said, "Would you like to change your title to fiancée?” Although Bella and Chun Man had already planned to get married, she was still surprised by the sudden proposal. She didn't hesitate to say yes.

Bella touched the ring on her finger. "I never thought I would become his fiancée with such an unromantic and unofficial proposal. Yet, I'm glad he chose me in the end and I'm grateful that he accepts a “Kong Girl” like me.”

Bella regretted for telling off Chun Man for being pessimistic during the trial, “Chun Man was too pessimistic before the verdict. I didn’t think it’s good for him. So I often told him off.” Bella understood afterwards that it was Chun Man who was the defendant, not herself. She realised that his worry and stress was not unreasonable. “I was hurt to see  him lying around like a dead body. I should have comforted him. I should not have told him off.”

Their relationship improved and they became more understanding because of the trial. They also understood that it was more important to realise that the other person was around than to argue unnecessarily. Bella said with a bitter smile, "But in return, the price was being forced to separate.”

A price too high.

****

“Lies after lies, inconsistency, sophistry, self-deception—these leave me no chance to accept the defendant’s testimony.”

On the day of the verdict, Bella was already in tears after hearing the criticism from magistrate Cheng Kei Hong even before he announced his verdict.

The claim was made by senior inspector Wai Kam Kwong who testified in court that Chun Man and another man turned around and ran when they saw the police vehicle. He claimed he chased after Chun Man because he was closer. The inspector said Chun Man hit him in his head with a long umbrella. He said he felt numbed in his head even with a helmet. When the inspector found out Chun Man was trying to escape, he jumped on him and pinned him onto the ground. He described the defendant as struggling and trying to escape. Later, a fellow officer came to his aid and found two cans of spray paint in his rucksack.

The course of "assaulting a police officer", as alleged by the prosecution, was not supported by any footage, but merely by the testimony of the inspector.

Wai claimed to be dizzy at that time and was sent to hospital. Yet, the doctor said he was fine and did not need to stay in the hospital. On the other hand, Chun Man was injured in the head and ribs and both his index fingers were bruised, so he needed to help from an orthopaedic surgeon.

Bella recalled the inspector's statement and became emotional when she said that he had not been arrested at the scene of demonstration. He was pinned down by police officers wearing 30 pounds of gears without resisting. "The police arrested him uncalmly. Even the police were not calm. Under such circumstances, as an arrested person, how could we expect him to be calm?"

Chun Man said that he had intended to participate in the rally, but came across the tear gas used by the police. A passerby handed him a red plastic bag and gave him water and saline to clean his face and inside the bag were two cans of spray paint. Since he was in the advertising industry, he kept the almost unused spray paint so he could use them for drafting at work. Later, he was walking around Central when a police officer with a baton charged at him. He was scared and ran away subconsciously. He was subdued without resisting.

Cheng accepted none of Chun Man’s words.

Cheng chose to accept the police officer’s statement and blamed Chun Man for “telling lies after lies” about his intention to use the spray paint for graffiti. “His action was selfish, disgusting. He was trying to use the graffiti to contaminate the well-organized streets of Hong Kong.” He also said that the protestors had always used spray paint to write hateful and violent words that destroy and divide the society.

"I never thought that a reasonable course of events would be treated as lies in Cheng's mouth." Bella said that as an advertisement designer it was normal for Chun Man to carry spray paint. "The ad designers provide customers colour swatches to pick and so the colour card they get will be very small. So the quickest way a designer uses is to use spray paint. The customer will be able to see what he/ she picks accurately."

"We are not familiar with the law but we know that assaulting a police officer has to be a more serious crime. The sentence for assaulting a police officer is 45 days but that of possessing spraying paint is 4 months and 15 days. This really shocked me. I didn't expect it to be like that."

The case was originally held optimistic by Alvin (pseudonym), Chun Man’s brother. "After all, there was no evidence. There are two sides of witnesses. The verdict should be difficult to reach. The lawyer pointed out that it was not likely for Chun Man to be sentenced to imprisonment. Even in the worst scenario he would only need to spend two weeks in prison.

Yet, he became worried when he saw a case tried by magistrate Cheng in which a real estate agent was accused of possessing a bag of 48 plastic straps and was sentenced to 5 months and 2 weeks imprisonment. 

****

One week after losing Chun Man

Bella visited him three times after he was jailed. "The first time I visited him, we were both crying. On the third visit, he had adapted to the prison.

" Bella always took advantage of the half-hour meeting to tell him not to be disciplined in prison, to relax, and that if he did well, he could be released early. Alvin was glad that his brother only lost very little weight and still had some "baby fat".

Chun Man was a lively and sociable person. He quickly made new friends and had inmates who understood him, which was "a great blessing among misfortunes". He got along well with the prison officer and worked as a "baby boy", which was similar to the role of a team leader. He helped carrying goods and handing out meals for the officers.

During one of her visits, Bella was with Chun Man’s supervisor at the advertising company who explained work matters. Chun Man’s supervisor was supportive of Chun Man and saw him as responsible and hardworking. He would try his best to keep his job or rehire him.

Even though Chun Man's supervisor said so, Bella knew in her heart that Chun Man's chance of keeping his job was slim.

But Bella also appreciated the kindness of his supervisor.

“In this year, Chun Man already left much work for his colleague to do. He cannot really dare to ask to keep his job. Fortunately his supervisor supports him.”

Chun Man was getting used to life in prison. But there was a hiccup in the process. Chun Man told Bella that he had received a letter signed by someone he did not know. The letter was clearly threatening, "Your mother and I have affairs. We have been to mainland China together and we have slept together in Macau. I will 'take good care' of your family."

Bella said, "Everyone can see what 'care' means. It is disgusting."

Bella was the first person to know about Chun Man's inmate ID number and wrote him a letter the night he was admitted to prison. But he told her that he received the letter and Bella's letter at the same time. "I was so surprised that someone sent him a letter at the same time, doing something so childish. It must have been done on purpose." Alvin believed it was from someone inside, “We just got to know his inmate ID, it is hard for some other person outside knowing his number that quickly”. Bella and Chun Man’s family worried that Chun Man would be upset upon receiving the letter. Luckily, Chun Man was optimistic and could laugh it off.

Everything seemed to have settled down.

It was Bella's who could not get used to life without Chun Man.

The wallpaper on Bella’s phone was a picture of Chun Man and her. Every time she thought of Chun Man, she could see him just by pressing her phone. Bella lost her dependence all of a sudden. She said that now she had to be independent and focused on her study. As she was still a university student, she developed emotional breakdown while worrying for her boyfriend and carrying on her study. “I had to take medication to keep my temper down in March and April. I expected my results in this semester to be not as good as before.”

She still occasionally subconsciously called Chun Man, whose phone was kept by her. When it rang, she would realise that Chun Man was not around.

Bella’s friends could not bear to see her lonely, so they took over for Chun Man's role and asking her out for gatherings. “My friends treat me well. In the three years with Chun Man, I seldom hung out with them. We have gatherings now once a week and Chun Man will be back after just a dozen of gatherings.”

Thinking back to the past year waiting for his verdict, Chun Man needed to be on curfew, making them stay at home to watch Netflix rather than going out during festivals.

Bella smiled and said that she had been bored at home. “People were watching fireworks for countdown while I packed clothes and watched TV with you at home.” She indeed missed the life with Chun Man, "But it's better to have him around than to count down with him in Lai Chi Kok (Reception Centre). I would rather for him to stay with me uneventfully. It does not matter whether we get to countdown or not.”

Bella was looking forward to Chun Man's release in late December at the earliest. But she worried about whether the two of them would get along.

"I could never experience what he had been through. Will that be a barrier?" Bella was glad that her semester break would coincide with the release of Chun Man. So she could do her best to help him adjust to life outside.

***

Justice no longer exists

“The cases related to the Anti-Extradition Law basically are not judged based on how strong the evidence is or how good the lawyer is, but which judge you get.”

Bella sighed, as Chun Man had bad luck

In cases handled by magistrate Cheng related to the social movement, defendants were usually imprisoned — a real estate agent was sentenced to five months and two weeks imprisonment for possession of a bag of 48 cable ties. A university lecturer was sentenced to one year imprisonment for possession of a homemade crossbow, some wooden sticks and arrows. A 21-year-old student was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for possession of three spray cans and a lighter.

However, there were also “exceptions” by magistrate Cheng.

A 80-year-old man was accused of stabbing ex-Legislator Leung Kwok Hung with a sharp object. He said in court that he was "doing justice for god" and said that Raymond Hui and Joshua Wong "would both die sooner or later". The judge said the defendant was "passionate about the community" and obtained a community service order report for him. The defendant was granted bail during his deferred sentencing. The report later showed that he was not suitable for a social service order and Cheng finally sentenced the old man to three months and six days inprisonment.

We heard of a judge praising the defendant who injured others with a knife for his “noble character”. But I didn't expect my own fiancée to meet such a similar magistrate. Bella said, "If people can be released on bail even with a community service order, so why can't Chun Man be released on bail?" Bella said of the two cases, "There is no evidence that Chun Man has done anything. But they let the 80-year-old man go on bail when there was evidence (reflected by the fact that he was given three months sentence). Other than bad luck, there is nothing else to talk about."

Alvin felt that it was unfair when there was evidence that the old man deliberately harmed someone intentionally but his sentence was shorter than Chun Man’s who was unarmed. "The leniency from the sentence imposed by magistrate Cheng is in effect reducing the seriousness of the matter and encouraging more people in the blue camp to hurt others?"

Bella said she was not surprised by the verdict. “I already knew the result from the moment I heard “love the society' spoken out by magistrate Cheng.” Bella was not happy but she had no choice but to accept it. "We all know the verdict could not stop anyone harming others

In the future. We all also know who really “has no remorse” according to magistrate Cheng. 

She believed the judicial system was chaotic and even if the defendant was acquitted, he or she would have to worry about future appeals from the Department of Justice. "In fact, many cases of acquittal were increasingly appealed by the Department of Justice. They have no time limit to appeal and they can appeal again after eight months."

“Justice no longer exists. Count your luck.”

***

It was the winter solstice. In just more than a week Chun Man would be released from prison.

Alvin's family normally did not celebrate festivals like the Mid-Autumn Festival much. They just had a bowl of dumplings, but at least they were together. Now that Chun Man had to still spend the winter solstice behind bars, Alvin laughed bitterly, "Chun Man is not here. We are missing something".

The time waiting for Chun Wen's release was not only torture in terms of time, but also psychological torture. Bella said Hongkongers were very pathetic, "when you realise the troubles the 12 Hongkonger are in, I think it is good for Chun Man to be still here." She was not "competing for more misery", "It's so unfair, but you can only comfort yourself like this, thinking that it is not that bad. It is really hard to be a Hongkonger."

Alvin said Hongkonger had been disheartened for a long time after the 2014 Umbrella Movement. In June last year, when democracy suddenly advanced, there seemed to be some hope for Hong Kong. But recently a fog was casted over it again. “In the past six months, every day there are new things that refresh your understanding of absurdity." He thought the government would only intensify its crackdown. While some people choose to leave the territory to fight in the "international front," those who remained, even if they knew that not much could actually be done, Alvin hoped they would stick to their beliefs.

Bella was counting down every second till Chun Man returned to her side. " Chun Man said the scene he wanted the most to see after his release was me sitting with his family, having a meal and chatting. It was that simple."

It was also the happiest thing for a family that was about to be reunited.

Note: The Judiciary announced on December 16 its response to three complaints against magistrate Cheng, including the case of the octogenarian who stabbed Leung Kwok Hung of the League of Social Democrats and the case of the defendant's "love for the community" mentioned by Cheng. Chief magistrate So Wai Tak found all three complaints unsubstantiated, stating that magistrate Cheng did not praise the defendant's "love for the community" and that Cheng only said at the time that, using the defendant's own words, he loved the community and committed the crime in the case because of his different political views."

As for the advertisement designer's spray paint case mentioned in the interview, Cheng’s handling of the case was also subject to complaints. However, the chief magistrate So said that Cheng had clearly stated in his ruling that he had borne in mind the applicable legal guidelines, and that his reference to "selfishness" and "disgusting" was intended to point out the seriousness of the case's culpability.

Source：Standnews #Dec21

#Designer #SprayPaint #Justice #Luck

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