Thread by @aaronMCN

The trial of six people who pleaded not guilty to rioting in Yuen Long on July 21, 2019, continued today.

The District Court judge spent considerable time picking apart the prosecution's opening statement, and it's worth documenting that in a thread: thestandnews.com/court/%E5%85%8…

The judge first asked why the prosecution cited the events of July 16, when some #antiELAB protesters held a film screening in Yuen Long, and some people with opposing views confronted them.

The prosecution said this was the background to July 21, and the two events are related.

At the prosecution's suggestion that one event led to the other, the judge said: "How? Are you saying the group of people on July 16 are the same people on July 21?"

The prosecution said after July 16, messages appeared online calling for a public meeting in Yuen Long on July 21

The judge said that if the prosecution were seeking to argue that the rioting on July 21 was caused by the events of July 16, "you definitely need to write that down more clearly."

At this, the prosecution said: "We have no information in that regard." thestandnews.com/politics/7-21-…

This led to a rebuke from the judge, who asked why the prosecution were wasting time and requested that they use "precious judicial resources" more effectively.

The prosecution finally agreed to delete those paragraphs related to July 16 from their statement.

The judge next asked the prosecution to clarify the phrase "there was an intense argument between black-shirted and white-shirted people, then a violent conflict occurred" which appeared multiple times in the statement.

The judge asked whether this meant both sides were fighting

The prosecution replied that both sides were arguing and throwing objects.

"Which side hit the other side first?" the judge eventually asked.

The prosecution said that the white-shirts were using wooden sticks, while the black-shirts were using a fire extinguisher and hose.

The judge then asked whether the black-shirts had had their own extinguisher and hose. The prosecution said no, those had been taken at the scene.

The judge then said: "So it was the white-shirts hitting the black-shirts, then the black-shirts grabbed things to fight back with."

When this series of questions was over, the judge commented: "There is actually so much in these words ['a violent conflict occurred']."

The judge then asked the prosecution again to write down the details in their statements more clearly.

By the end of this thread, you may be understandably puzzled as to whether it's black-shirted people or white-shirted people who are on trial at the moment.

This case started with eight defendants, two of whom have already pleaded guilty, so that pair will proceed to sentencing.

Of the remaining six, the most well-known is a 57-year-old alleged gangster nicknamed Fei Tin-nam, who was erroneously reported as having died on July 21.

This case may well prove pivotal in unlocking the competing narratives behind the events of July 21, 2019.

Protesters said that it was an indiscriminate, one-sided attack by white-shirted people on anyone, protester or otherwise, who happened to be in Yuen Long MTR station at the time.

Police later contended that it was a conflict between two evenly-matched sides.