A former Hong Kong design school student was jailed for more than two years on Thursday for rioting during a 2019 anti-government protest in which activists vandalised smart lamp posts.

Tse Cheuk-wa, 25, pleaded guilty before a District Court judge last month to rioting in Kowloon Bay on August 24, 2019, when a march approved by police descended into violence and disrupted traffic.

Protesters had taken to the streets demanding the full withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill which would have enabled the city to hand over fugitives to jurisdictions with which it lacked a transfer agreement, including mainland China. They also targeted about 50 smart lamp posts installed in eastern Kowloon, some of which were equipped with video cameras.

Anti-government protesters set up barricades outside Ngau Tau Kok Police Station on August 24, 2019.

About 20 lamp posts were damaged during the disturbance, with then technology minister Nicholas Yang Wei-hsiung calling it a “dark day” for the innovation sector. The cameras were dismounted in May of the following year.

Prosecutors said Tse was among 20 protesters who set up a makeshift roadblock near Ngau Tau Kok Police Station and refused to leave despite repeated warnings from officers at 2.30pm. Some also hurled bricks and shone bright light at police.

Tse, who was wearing protective gear at the time, hit a chief inspector on the arm at around 4.40pm after the officer tried to arrest a protester in a dispersal operation. He was immediately subdued.

Passing sentence at West Kowloon Court, Deputy Judge Peter Hui Shiu-keung agreed to adopt a shorter term than what had been handed down in other riot cases stemming from the 2019 unrest, noting Tse was not responsible for most of the violence that ensued.

Hui pointed to video footage that showed police officers taking out non-lethal weapons despite a lack of any sign the peace would be breached by protesters marching along the designated route.

He also said the chief inspector appeared to have angered the crowd by suddenly charging towards the unnamed demonstrator.

“Before the dispersal, the protesters had rarely shone laser lights or hurled bricks at officers apart from shouting, setting up barricades and producing noises by hitting objects. It can be said that at that time, a riot had yet to be formed,” the judge said.

“In a minute after the situation escalated into a riot, the defendant was already subdued. To be fair and just to the defendant, I believe I should only take into account the situation before the laser pointers and bricks were used.”

Hui started with 40 months and reduced it by one-fourth to reflect Tse’s guilty plea. He further shaved three months off due to the defendant’s clear record, for a total of 27 months.

Rioting is punishable by seven years’ imprisonment at the District Court.