Deputy district judge Cheng Lim-chi said former Eastern council member Lancelot Chan Wing-tai, 58, implicitly called on people to join an illegal assembly during a press briefing outside the court of final appeal on the day before the assembly.

Chan earlier pleaded not guilty to one count of unlawfully inciting others to participate in an unauthorized public procession.

Cheng said: "Chan, who spoke as a member of the district council, was guilty of the same crime as other defendants who explicitly incited others to participate in an unauthorized assembly during a press conference." He was referring to the case's other defendants who pleaded guilty last year. Thus far, seven people have been sentenced in this case to between six and 12 months in prison.

"Even though there was no serious violence on the day, it affected traffic conditions in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai A community service order is not suitable for this case. The defendant did not plead guilty and showed no remorse," he said.

In a separate case, activist Koo Sze-yiu was sentenced to a nine-month term yesterday for planning to display a coffin bearing political slogans outside the central government's liaison office in Sheung Wan last February.

Koo pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to or preparing to commit an act or acts with seditious intention.

In mitigation, the 75-year-old Koo said: "I have no regrets. I shall rise again every time I fall, without the least bit of repentance."