Ex-law student convicted after court reverses acquittal of 2019 riot charge

A Hong Kong court has reversed a former law student’s acquittal in a riot trial arising from the 2019 anti-government protests, finding her guilty based on “overwhelming” circumstantial evidence that she had encouraged other participants through her presence.The District Court on Tuesday convicted Alice Tong Ka-yan nearly seven years after her arrest during the unrest in Wan Chai on the night of August 31, 2019.Tong, who will turn 27 this month, was initially cleared of rioting in August 2021 on the grounds that prosecutors failed to prove she had either committed a violent act or abetted violence during a 30-minute stand-off between protesters and police.