A 12-year-old boy became the youngest protester to be convicted over the civil unrest that broke out in June when he pleaded guilty on Thursday to vandalising a police station and railway interchange last month.
In mitigation, his lawyer told magistrate Edward Wong Ching-yu the boy was so remorseful he only left his home to attend school after his arrest, and had not played basketball or practised dragon dance since. But Wong reserved the option to impose a probation order, where the boy would be under the counselling and supervision of a probation officer for up to three years. The order would leave him with a criminal record.
The boy was traced to his residence by the officer, who waited outside until 7am the following day, when the boy went to school in uniform.