The first anti-terrorism case | The guilty defendant Huang Zhenqiang appointed a prosecution witness to testify that the prosecution alleged that he was the leader of the “Dragon Slaying Squad”

The prosecution pointed out that Huang Zhenqiang needed time to read TG messages

The prosecution summoned Huang Zhenqiang to testify, and the prosecution opened the case and pointed out that Huang was the leader of the “Dragon Slaying Squad”. Huang Zhenqiang had short hair, black-rimmed glasses with light gray rims, and a dark gray suit. When he passed the defendant’s column from the cell, he looked at the other defendants. Huang walked into the witness stand and once looked towards the auditorium in the back. He then took a non-religious oath and was guarded by a correctional officer behind him.

Huang confirmed under questioning by the prosecution that he was arrested for this case on December 8, 2019. The police seized two of his mobile phones and videotaped his Telegram messages for more than 6 hours. The prosecution pointed out that due to the large amount of information involved in the case, Huang needed to read and confirm the information, saying that this would make the trial smoother and reduce the number of witnesses that need to be called. In order to prevent all parties from having to “sit in silence” in court and wait for Huang to read it, the prosecution applied for an adjournment. The defense and the judge did not object. During the period, Huang Zhenqiang read the message in the court, and representatives from the prosecution and defense monitored it.

National Security Police said Huang Zhenqiang took the initiative to change his plea to guilty

The defense questioned the destruction of meeting notes for another purpose

The prosecution earlier alleged that co-defendant Huang Zhenqiang, who pleaded guilty in the case, was the leader of the “Dragon Slaying Squad” and summoned Liu Weixiong (transliteration), a police officer from the National Security Department who had met Huang, to testify.

Police officer Liu testified that it was Huang who took the initiative to contact the police and said that he planned to plead guilty. After the police met with him three times, they took a “non-impairable confession” for Huang from the fourth meeting onwards. He also stated that they met with Huang a total of 10 times (see text below). Table), and denied that the process involved inducement or intimidation. Under cross-examination, Liu confessed that he destroyed notes from at least eight meetings after reporting to his superiors.

Among them, the defense questioned whether Liu destroyed the interview notes before taking the “confession without prejudice”, whether he did not want the defense to know what happened during the process, and whether he did not want the court to know that Huang had communicated and bargained with the police. Liu denied it, and pointed out that in the three meetings before recording the confession, Huang mainly said that he wanted to plead guilty and explain the incident.

When questioned by the prosecution, Liu pointed out that the police code does not require the keeping of notes on interviews with witnesses, nor does it need to be recorded in the police logbook. Liu pointed out that the warning testimony needs to be recorded intact because it may become evidence in court in the future; but Huang Zhenqiang was a witness at the time, so he only had to write down the key points of his evidence to help him give evidence in court in the future.

7 people charged with conspiracy to murder, Counter-Terrorism Ordinance

The case was heard by Judge Zhang Huiling and a jury of 3 men and 6 women. The seven defendants are Zhang Junfu, Zhang Mingyu, Yan Wenqian, Li Jiatian, Lai Zhenbang, Xu Zhanrong and Liu Pei Ning. Their ages ranged from 20 to 29 years old at the time of prosecution.

The first six people were charged with “conspiracy to commit an explosion of a prescribed subject” under the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance, and conspiracy to murder a Hong Kong police officer. Li Jiatian was also accused of possessing a pistol, magazines and ammunition; Liu Pei-ning was charged with “conspiracy to provide or raise property for the purpose of committing terrorist acts”.

Case number: HCCC164/2022, HCCC255/2023

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