July 1 marcher denies 'whistling' assault
A construction worker denied assaulting police officers by whistling loudly with his fingers near their ears during the July 1 march this year, in Eastern Court on Thursday.
A construction worker denied assaulting police officers by whistling loudly with his fingers near their ears during the July 1 march this year, in Eastern Court on Thursday.
Ki Chun-kei, 49, pleaded not guilty to five charges of assaulting police officers.
The court heard Ki’s statement to police when he was arrested on August 2, in which he said: “I was just whistling. Other people also did that. Why couldn’t I?”
Auxiliary police officer Li Hung-kei, a full time manager at a financial services company, testified in court that Ki charged towards him holding a can of beer, and whistled loudly at him.
“He rushed towards me and whistled right next to me. I turned away. I heard a ‘wee’ sound and it was reverberating in my ears,” Li recalled. “I could not hear clearly for two to three seconds.”
Li said he did not report the incident to his supervisor that day. He made a report after his supervisor asked on July 4 whether he had anything to report.
“I didn’t arrest him immediately, because we were lectured that we should remain restrained that day and avoid being provoked by others,” Li said.
The court heard that Ki was filmed, by TVB news, whistling near police officer Huen Kim-ho.
The trial continues on Thursday.
