A protester who directed deafening whistle blasts at police reservists on crowd control duty last July 1 was convicted of assault on Tuesday by the Eastern Magistrates' Court.

The 50-year-old construction worker, Ki Chun-kei, had pleaded not guilty to five charges of assaulting police officers acting in the execution of their duties.

Ki was found guilty on three counts, after discrepancies were found in two of the victims' testimonies.

Ki was among frontline protesters at a July 1 rally last year, as business managers, marketers and reporters, working as auxiliary officers struggled to maintain crowd control.

Magistrate Ho Wai-yang said Ki deliberately targeted the officers' ears and that the intensity of his two-fingered whistle blasts was excessive.

She also pointed out some of the officers experienced temporary deafness and tinnitus.

Ki will reappear before Ho for sentencing in March.

Prosecutor Jonathan Man Tak-ho had told the court that Ki let loose a stream of loud, high frequency blasts at close range to the officers' ears and that the sounds constituted a form of non-physical assault.

Ki's conviction comes after an earlier case in 2003 where a protester was found guilty of assault and sentenced to two months' in prison for shouting into police officer's ears with a loudspeaker.

Ki's defense counsel requested that a fine be assessed. Ho swept aside the request, pointing out that Ki had exhibited similar behavior in the past.

Auxiliary Police Officer Li Hung-kei told the court that he saw Ki holding a can of beer just before he lurched forward to let loose a barrage of shrieks though a whistle at officers trying to keep the peace.

Other auxiliary police officers testified they experienced temporary deafness and thought Ki's actions were intimidating, humiliating and unnecessary.

Ki contended that he was caught up in the crowd's cacophony and was merely joining the spirit of the moment.

The prosecution dismissed as nonsense Ki's assertion that he was not targeting police. Man showed television footage showing Ki whistling directly at officers who shied away while nearby protesters covered their ears to muffle Ki's sonic assault.

tim@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 01/23/2013 page1)