Liauw Ka-kei, senior superintendent for operations from Hong Kong Island Regional Headquarters, met reporters this afternoon and said police will closely monitor if there is any terrorist attack by radical activists.

This came after police found some citizens had been inciting others to participate in unauthorized assemblies in Causeway Bay on the internet and through social media.

Yet, local media earlier found that all sessions of the football pitch at the park that day were fully booked.

Liauw noted that the vigil always attracted large crowds over the past years, and although the vigil was banned last year because of Covid, some still attempted to challenge the law and gathered in the area, ignoring police’s warning.

He added that anyone participating in an unauthorized assembly without legal right or reasonable explanation could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison upon conviction.

Inciting others to participate in the unauthorized assembly is also a criminal offense. The maximum penalty is one-year imprisonment, Liauw pointed out.

Liauw then cited some cases in the past and said violence is not an element factored in by the court when ruling. As for the case that occurred on June 4, two years ago, the defendants were jailed for four to 10 months.

He explained that even if the offender is alone at the assembly, other people nearby or elsewhere who share common views or opinions can be deemed part of the unauthorized assembly, which is not exclusively limited to one place.

If social order and peace are further disrupted, the assembly will evolve into an unlawful assembly, Liauw said.