A road maintenance worker accused of a 2019 mob attack told a Hong Kong court he spent close to three hours in restaurants hundreds of meters away from the crime scene in Yuen Long that evening.

Ng Wai-nam, 57, is facing one count of rioting and another of wounding in relation to the mass assault on passersby inside the Yuen Long train station on July 21 that year.

The defendant testified that on the said day, he finished his night shift in the small hours and went home, where he slept till 9 p.m. He then drove to Fung Kwan Street, hundreds of meters away from the railroad station, for dinner, herbal tea and dessert, and started making his way home again around 11:45 p.m., Ng told the District Court on Tuesday.

Ng said that as he stopped at a road junction outside exit J of the train station, he saw a crowd and an ambulance at the entrance of Ying Lung Wai village. He parked nearby and walked to the village entrance to check what was happening.

Video footage played in court showed a man dressed in white walking toward the crowd. Ng’s lawyer identified that man as his client.

Ng further said that in the crowd, he saw an acquaintance “Auntie Kitty,” who told him some of the people present had turned up to “demolish the village and its ancestral hall.” Ng said he took her word for it.

A standoff was unfolding between unarmed villagers and people who were carrying umbrellas or objects that looked like sticks, Ng said. He tried to urge both sides to disperse peacefully, but a crowd later moved toward villagers, triggering a clash, Ng said.

During the conflict, a water-filled barrier was toppled while an unidentified person punched Ng in the nose and face, the court heard.

Video footage showed a person, dressed in a deep color, holding a club next to Ng. Ng admitted he snatched the club from that person because “it was posing a psychological threat.”

Up until that point, he had no weapons in his hands, he said. Some objects including road signages were thrown in his direction, so he waved his club to keep the crowd at bay, Ng told the court.

Earlier, the court heard that more than 50 people dressed in white used metal rods, clubs and wooden sticks to beat commuters in the train station. Six defendants including Ng are standing trial for rioting and wounding.

The hearing continues on Wednesday.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play