Social worker Hui Lai-ming was acquitted of obstructing police during a protest last year, with the magistrate calling an officer an “unreliable witness” whose testimony did not match video evidence.

Hui, the director of the Hong Kong Social Workers’ General Union, was initially charged with assaulting police in relation to a pro-democracy protest in Admiralty on Sept. 29, 2019. Prosecutors altered the charge on the first day of Hui’s trial despite objections from her lawyers.

A police officer surnamed Chong previously testified that the 50-year-old Hui confronted the police while chanting “don’t beat up the children.” She then pushed him in the chest and caused him to fall over, Chong said.

Magistrate May Chung on Wednesday said that Hui followed police instructions when leaving the scene and that the officer only fell by accident. Video evidence showed that Hui was cooperating with law enforcement and had no intention of assaulting the officer, Chung added.

The officer’s testimony was “unreliable” as there were multiple discrepancies with video footage of the incident, which showed no evidence of assault, Chung said.

Speaking outside the court after the ruling, an emotional Hui said the trial felt like “torture” and had filled her with despair.

“I had to consider the possibility of going to jail, which frightened and depressed me,” Hui said, adding that she wept tears of joy when the magistrate found her not guilty.

“I want to say clearly: I am a social worker. My colleagues and I are preserving justice,” she said. “I have felt despair and doubted my own beliefs, but all along there were many people who stayed by my side.”

Hui said that her case showed that police arrested people indiscriminately at protests, which was why prosecutors had to amend the charges at the last minute. She said she was also concerned about the Department of Justice appealing her case.

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