Seven police officers were convicted Tuesday of assaulting a protester during Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014.
All the defendants faced one joint count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, but in the end the city’s court convicted them with a lesser charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The convicted officers face a maximum three years in prison, according to Hong Kong law.
One of the defendants, policeman Chan Siu-tan, 31, was also found guilty of common assault for slapping social worker Ken Tsang Kin-chiu twice during an interview, at a police station in Hong Kong’s Central district.
Chan could face a maximum of one more year in prison than his co-defendants. The verdict was handed down on Tuesday and court will resume on Friday for mitigation, where the defense will argue for a lighter sentence.
