Bookstore row assault case adjourned for October ruling
On.cc · 2 SOURCES1 day ago6 MIN
Summary
A 22-year-old Pakistani man holding a Hong Kong identity card, Khan Adeel (王志輝), is on trial over a confrontation outside Summer Bookstore on the second floor of Kwai Chung Plaza on August 27, 2025. He was originally reported as denying both behaving in a disorderly manner in a public place and assaulting Police Constable Wong Wai-lam, but the later hearing recorded that he had admitted the public disorder charge and contested only the assault charge. At the resumed hearing on September 17, 2026, Magistrate Bonnie Bear Snowe found there was a case to answer on assaulting a police officer, and adjourned the matter to October 15 for judgment after the defence closed its case without calling evidence. The dispute in court centred on whether Khan poked the officer’s chest and whether the officer’s own conduct, seen in circulated video clips, undermined his account.
Key Points
- The case concerns an incident at about 4pm on August 27, 2025, outside Summer Bookstore on Kwai Chung Plaza’s second floor, where bystanders filmed the confrontation.
- Police Constable Wong Wai-lam, service number 25443, testified Khan shouted loudly for about three minutes and insulted him in Cantonese, including calling him an “Ive graduate”
- Wong said Khan stood very close and poked three times at the “police” wording on his uniform chest, after ignoring repeated calls to calm down
- The defence argued online videos showed no assault by Khan and instead showed Wong had proactively pushed and poked Khan, changing his account only after viewing footage.
- After ruling there was a case to answer on the assault charge, the magistrate heard final submissions, granted continued bail, and fixed judgment for October 15, 2026
Why It Matters
The case turns heavily on how courts assess police testimony against widely shared civilian video footage, an issue with practical importance in many public-order prosecutions in Hong Kong. It also shows how a single street confrontation can produce separate questions of disorderly conduct and alleged assault on an officer, with the court required to distinguish between verbal abuse, physical contact and police response.