Lesson Learned?

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai was at the Admiralty protest site every day

When the Occupy protests were in full swing in November 2014, Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying visited the Admiralty site everyday -- and even had his own tent to hold court.

But on November 12, around 4.30pm, just as Lai, 67, was about to leave the area, two men shouted his name along with some swear words and hurled plastic bags filled with animal entrails at him.

Today the two men, kitchen employee Chan Kwok-hung, 31 and restaurant owner Yip Wing-chi, 44 were convicted of common assault and will face jail time.

Their co-defendant businessman Li Siu-lung, 46, denied the charge of common assault of throwing entrails at Lai.

One of the men arrested at the scene; the animal organs

Yip and Chan were further convicted of assault when two Occupy marshals tried to stop the trio from getting away.

In court, the defense said Yip was not a man of strong political views.

"But he absolutely hated the umbrella movement because, ironically, his son had participated with enthusiasm. [Yip] felt the entire incident was instigated by [Lai]."

The defense tried to suggest his client was at the protest site to look for his son, but the magistrate didn't buy it, because why would he be walking around with bags of animal entrails then?

The irony in all of this is that while Yip wanted to get back at Lai for supposedly influencing his son to join the umbrella movement, Yip himself will be behind bars for a while...

All three have had previous convictions for violence.

They will find out their fate on May 3.