A female protester has been sentenced to three and a half months in prison for ‘assaulting a police officer’, something that has angered many people in Hong Kong.
The method of her alleged assault is what is most under the spotlight, Ng Lai-ying’s chest bumping a male police officer during a protest back in March. Over to CNN for more:
During her trial, Ng pleaded not guilty, saying she cried “indecent assault” when the police officer’s hand landed on her breast…But a local magistrate rejected the claim and accused her of lying.
“You used your female identity to trump up the allegation that the officer had molested you. This is a malicious act,” said deputy magistrate Chan Pik-kiu, adding Ng had harmed the officer’s reputation with her accusation.
Following the sentencing many protested outside the Wan Chai Police Headquarters and chanted ‘breasts are not weapons’. Echoing what many of us may well be thinking is Ng Cheuk Ling, a 24-year-old activist with the Hong Kong Women’s Coalition on Equal Opportunities:
I believe we are all baffled as to how a breast attack works…It’s ridiculous and alarming that the judge didn’t just convict the protester of assaulting police with her breast, but that her seeking help was also considered part of the assault. Should we silence ourselves in the face of sexual violence?
Not that I am too sure what is happening in the video below but this is the footage shown by local news stations.
Yeah, that woman really stood a chance against a host of male police officers. Shame, they must have felt so threatened.
[source:cnn]
