Two men in Hong Kong 'Occupy Central' movement jailed for 16 months

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A Hong Kong court on Wednesday jailed two leaders in the illegal "Occupy Central" movement after nine men were found guilty of a public nuisance during the demonstration earlier this month.

Benny Tai, 54, and Chan Kin-man, 60, each jailed for 16 months for conspiracy to commit public nuisance. Chu Yiu-ming, 75, received a suspended sentence.

On April 9, the trio was found guilty of conspiracy to commit public nuisance over their leading role in planning and mobilizing supporters during the 79-day protest.

Among the other six defendants of this case, who were found guilty of one or two offenses of inciting public nuisances, two were sentenced to immediate imprisonment for eight months, two got eight-month imprisonment with two-year suspension, and another was sentenced to 200-hour community services.

The judge granted a six-week adjournment of the sentencing for one of the defendants, Tanya Chan, due to her health condition.

Members of several local groups gathered Wednesday morning in front of the court building, calling for due punishment for leaders of the illegal "Occupy Central" movement.

Po Chun-chung, the chairman of "Defend Hong Kong Campaign," said his group came to witness the announcement of punishment for those who caused damage to Hong Kong's rule of law and a severe division in the society.

HKSAR chief executive Carrie Lam, though refusing to comment on the specific case, said the HKSAR government respects the court ruling and stressed that Hong Kong's cherished spirit of rule of law means "both the government and citizens must respect and strictly abide by law."

The Consul General of the U.S. in Hong Kong expressed his concerns over the judgement.

The Chinese foreign ministry responded Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs and no foreign country is entitled to meddle in them.

(With inputs from Xinhua)