Prosecutors want harsher sentences for Occupy activists who led the 2014 protests

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By staff writer, with additional reporting by Ben Pang
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By staff writer, with additional reporting by Ben Pang |
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(L-R) Joshua Wong, Alex Chow and Nathan Law stormed the government headquarters in Admiralty in 2014.

Hong Kong prosecutors want to overturn a court ruling against three Occupy activists who stormed government headquarters and triggered a 79-day protest in 2014, the Court of Appeal heard on Wednesday. They said the original ruling was too lenient and that the activists should be jailed immediately.

Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Joshua Wong Chi-fung, and Alex Chow Yong-kang, were previously sentenced by Magistrate June Cheung Tin-ngan for their actions in 2014. Cheung decided against a deterrent sentence, saying the trio had expressed their demands based on genuine political ideals or concern for society.

Law and Wong were sentenced last August by a local court to 80 and 120 hours of community service respectively. Chow was given a three-week jail term, suspended for one year.

However, deputy director of public prosecutions David Leung Cheuk-yin said Cheung put too much stress on the group’s personal background instead of the severity of the case. He added that the group planned to deliberately storm the headquarters, and that they used a certain level of violence during the storm.

“Although they didn’t have weapons, the protestors forcefully pushed the gates and 10 security guards were injured. The assembly involving violence should be a crucial part of considering heavier penalty against the trio,” Leung told the court.

Wong said outside the court on Wednesday that he was willing to “bear legal responsibility”, but added that the group will “continue our civil disobedience movement and fight for democracy”.

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