4 Criminals Vandalized HKers Sheltering Restaurant Ruled 4 to 6 Months 朝"保護傘餐廳"潑穢物 4嫌遭判刑4到6月

Four perpetrators who threw excrement at a restaurant in Taipei were sentenced to four to six months in prison for the crime of injury. The case is politically sensitive as their target is a restaurant which hires Hong Kong activists who seek refuge in Taiwan. Some believe the sentence is too light to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

In October 2020, a suspect surnamed Mo carried a bucket as he ran towards Aegis, a restaurant in Taipei that provides a livelihood to Hong Kong dissidents who fled to Taiwan seeking asylum, and splattered it with filth. The police investigated, and arrested four people. They were prosecuted, and it was found that there was someone from China inciting them behind the scenes. The suspects were detained and denied visitation privileges. On Aug. 24, the first ruling was issued. All the suspects were sentenced to four to six months, and the prison sentences can be commuted to fines. The ruling can also be appealed.

Nancy (Oct. 16, 2020), Aegis Supporter:” Many people came to ask if there was some kind of dispute. There wasn't, but their identities are more sensitive, so it could be that they were possibly pro-China supporters who came looking for trouble. That's just our guess.” 

The restaurant is located in Taipei, and was established by Huang Kuo-tung, a volunteer lawyer for anti-extradition law protesters. It offers assistance to Hong Kong people seeking asylum in Taiwan. During the trial, the four suspects said they were unaware of the restaurant's backstory and they committed the crime simply because they were paid to do so. They admitted to committing the crime but maintained it was not an act of deliberate injury. When asked to comment on the verdict, the restaurant proprietor did not respond. Causeway Bay Books owner Lam Wing-kee, whose bookstore was previously splashed with paint, said the sentence was too light.

Voice of Lam Wing-kee, Owner, Causeway Bay Books:” If you don't severely punish them, the people behind the scenes will have no reason to stop doing things like that, because they don't need to serve time and they're not the ones paying. If you can use the money to fix things, then can't you expect it to reoccur?” 

Lam said he has concerns about a chain reaction as this politically sensitive relationship has become a target. He called on courts to severely punish perpetrators to put an end to this type of menacing behavior

提著桶子、拔腿狂奔，莫姓嫌犯去年10月，對"保護傘餐廳"惡意潑灑穢物，引發外界關注，警方追查後，共謀犯案的4人相繼落網，遭到起訴，更查出幕後有中國人士指使，一度將人聲押禁見，而24號全案一審宣判，各處4到6月刑期，可易科罰金，全案還可上訴。

保護傘餐廳友人 Nancy(2020.10.16) ：「很多人來問是不是有什麼糾紛。其實沒有，但他們的身分比較敏感，所以可能就是一些可能比較親中人士的人來找麻煩。但這只是我們的推斷。」

位在台北市的這間餐廳，是香港反送中抗爭者義務律師黃國桐開設，協助在台港人尋求庇護，但開庭時，4名嫌犯表示，不清楚店家背景，為了賺取報酬，才下手犯案，坦承犯罪事實，但否認蓄意傷害，對於判決，店家低調不回應，曾經遭到潑漆的銅鑼灣書店店長林榮基則說，判決太輕。

銅鑼灣書店店長 林榮基：「你不重判的話，後面的人反正不用坐牢、錢也不是我花的，為什麼不做（犯案）花錢可以搞定的話，那是不是預計會再發生。」

林榮基點出，因為這層政治敏感關係，成為下手目標，就怕引發連鎖效應，呼籲法院重判，以杜絕恐嚇行為再重演。