Defending the Breast(s)

Protesters came out showing off their bras, including some men!

If there was a protest march I should have checked out, it was yesterday's in Hong Kong.

A group of people, about 200 of them gathered in front of the police headquarters in Wan Chai to protest the sentence of Ng Lai-ying, 30, who was jailed for three months and 15 days for assaulting a police officer with her breast.

She was arrested back on March 1, when she took part in a protest against parallel tradeing in Yuen Long, and when she said that during scuffles with police, chief inspector Chan Ka-po tried to grab her bag, but instead grabbed her breast.

Ng Lai-ying was arrested for assault using her breast

Ng accused him of indecent assault, but instead Chan accused her of assaulting him with her breast.

When the case went to court in July, magistrate Michael Chan Pik-kiu said Ng tried to damage the policeman's reputation, even though he suffered no injury.

Protesters who came out yesterday were outraged.

"Breast is not a weapon," they chanted. There were many liberal men who wore bras, while some women wore them on top of T-shirts or waved bras around.

"The way I dress today looks quite ugly as a male, but it is not as ugly as the judgement, which is like pointing at a deer and calling it a horse, and the police's decision to prosecute Ng without following guidelines," said social worker Jordi Tsang Sing-cheung, wearing a coconut bra.

Someone should have taken an informal survey to see how the men felt about wearing the bras...

Anyway, the magistrate later admitted he was threatened and feared for his safety since the verdict, but that didn't stop some protesters from carrying signs that read: "God will punish".

Protesters mock police by pretending to grab a man's breasts!

"It is very shocking and regrettable when a woman who says she's been molested is interpreted as causing chaos. It will deter women from taking part in social movements and deprive them of the right to take part in political activities," said Luk Kit-ting, a spokeswoman for the group.

While the protest gathering was not legal since the group had not given advance notice to the police, the authorities raised a yellow flag to warn them that this was an unlawful assembly and they could be prosecuted.

However, the warning was ignored and the protesters left peacefully after they handed a petition to a police representative.

Perhaps the authorities were amused by the unusual protest, as summed up by retired teacher James Hon, who was also sporting a bra for the first time: "We have come to this rather odd method to tell the world how ridiculous it is."

Ng is going to appeal the sentence. We wonder if Lady Justice will put her blindfold back on to ensure a fair trial...