The protest coincided with the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from British to Chinese rule.
Protesters entered the building using a public entrance just before 9pm and proceeded to trash the interior for several hours, according to the prosecution’s case summary agreed upon by the seven defendants who pleaded guilty.
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Once inside the chamber, protesters spray-painted the emblem of Hong Kong displayed on the wall behind the podium of Legco’s president. Several monitors in the chamber were also smashed and cables torn.
Protest organiser Ventus Lau has pleaded guilty to rioting on July 1, 2019. Photo: Nora Tam
Most protesters left the complex after midnight after police said it would clear the area. Officers entered the complex at around 1am the next day and found no demonstrators inside.
The city’s legislature eventually spent HK$36,284,116 (US$4,630,869) on repairing the damage done by protesters, including replacing 45 panes of glass on the ground floor of the building, the prosecution said.
Althea Suen outside District Court on Monday. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Suen, who decided not to apply for bail, waved to supporters inside the court before being taken away.
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The seven who admitted to the rioting charge have had their other charges dropped, with the exception of Amy Pat Wai-fan, who also pleaded guilty to the trespassing charge.
The court has set a 44-day schedule for the trial, and the prosecution plans to call fewer than 20 witnesses, among them Legco Secretary General Kenneth Chen Wei-On.
The court will also hear testimony from five police officers in relation to a challenge by defendant Lam Kam-kwan over the way his statement was taken.
Other evidence to be presented was a 11-hour video that compiled clips from a variety of sources chronicling events throughout the day. Defendant Pat requested through her lawyer that she appear in the court later this week for the video.
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The trial will continue with the prosecution’s opening submissions on Tuesday.
Among the 14 defendants, Ho Chun-yin has not entered a plea as his lawyers said earlier he was unfit to do so on mental health grounds. Four medical expert witnesses will be called to testify in the court next week for the application.
Owen Chow Ka-shing, another opposition activist, will face trial for alleged rioting in October due to a scheduling conflict with a national security trial.
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The anti-government protests were triggered by a proposed extradition bill that would have allowed for suspects to be transferred to mainland China, among other jurisdictions. The government eventually dropped the proposal.