Hundreds of protestors dressed in bras took to the streets of Hong Kong yesterday to protest the conviction of a woman who was jailed for assaulting a senior police officer with her breast.
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The clerk was found guilty of using her chest to bump against the arm of chief inspector Chan Ka-po.
Ng Lai-ying, a 30 year old lady was protesting against mainland Chinese cross-border traders.
Yesterday, over 100 activists took it a step further and gathered for a “breast walk” outside of police headquarters in the Wan Chai district.
Breasts aren’t weapons, said the crowd.
In solidarity with Lai-ying, men wore bras over their shirts, as the crowd chanted “Breasts are not weapons”.
Chatting with Al Jazeera, Package Ling, a spokesperson for the “breast stroll”, stated the police had put forth an unproductive narrative of the incident.
Ling said dismissing Lai-ying’s claims of assault implies that women are wrong to voice their concerns when they feel harassed.
Remarking over the ruling, a 24-year-old activist Ng Cheuk-ling says, “It’s ridiculous and alarming that the judge didn’t just convict the protester of assaulting police with her breast, but that her seeking help was also considered part of the assault”.
“We now have a standard understanding that ladies ought to really feel snug to talk out in the event that they really feel they’re being attacked”. How can breasts be a weapon? “We will not think about why this occurred”.
“If this sets a precedent, the police will not only abuse their power but also strip women of their rights to take part in protests. This is a malicious act”, said deputy magistrate Chan Pik-kiu, adding Ng had harmed the officer’s reputation with her accusation.
Activists maintain that Lai-ying’s conviction had been a sexist ruling, while others see the incident as a sign of a deteriorating rule of law in the face of growing Beijing influence over the city.
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“We observe that there has been an outpouring of public reaction, including many expressions of doubt and disappointment at the findings and sentence in Ms Ng’s case”, it read.
“In mild of what has been said above, we will perceive the emotions behind such [a] response”.
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According to Ling, about 22 organisations supporting gender equality were represented during Sunday’s protest. The state prosecutor later brought a case against her saying she used “breast assault” on the officer, which earned her a prison sentence of three and half months.
