Thread by @JessiePang0125

#NSL: A Hong Kong court on Friday increased a jail sentence to five years, in line with a China-imposed national security law, for a student who called for independence from China in posts on the Telegram messaging service. reuters.com/world/china/ho…

Lui Sai-yu, 25, an engineering undergraduate at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, was charged with inciting secession in April 2021 with messages calling for "acts to be taken to unlawfully change the regime" in Hong Kong.

He has been in detention since September 2020, after police raided his flat and found a pepper ball gun, meant for firing irritant powder for self-defence, an extendable police baton, two military knives and protective gear.

Judge Amanda Woodcock had originally sentenced him to 3 years and 8 months after his guilty plea led to a one third reduction.

But prosecutor Ivan Cheung said the crime Lui committed was of a serious nature and must fall within sentencing guidelines in the security legislation. Woodcock then increased it to 5 years.

Cheung said the sentencing should be not less than 5 years but not more than 10 years according to the security law and warned the judge to be careful of the appealable areas.

"If your finding that the defendant's conduct is of serious nature, you can give a reduction in sentencing. It cannot fall below the five-year imprisonment," Choy said.

Lui's lawyer, Edwin Choy said the original sentencing has already reflected the serious nature of the offense he committed.

"One eleven reduction as opposed to one-third reduction. That kind of calculation is not an ideal scenario," Choy said."We are talking about sentencing justice."

Choy told Reuters they were considering an appeal.

Lui himself had told the judge in a mitigation letter that his original intention was to let the voice of people be heard.

"It was difficult for an energetic and idealistic young man to keep completely uninvolved", Lui wrote, referring to the 2019 protests.
"My love for Hong Kong was no less than anyone else's."

"I see no reason to now revisit my finding on the nature of the circumstances of the offence and decide it is of a minor nature because the circumstances have not changed," Woodcock said in her judgment.

"I repeat, on the facts I found the circumstances of the offence committed by the defendant to be of a serious nature. I stand corrected and agree that Article 21 does impose a minimum term of imprisonment depending on the finding of the court."

Full judgment: legalref.judiciary.hk/doc/judg/word/…