An Academy for Performing Arts student was on Monday sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to rioting in 2019.

The District Court heard that hundreds of protesters had gathered in Wong Tai Sin on August 5, 2019, and the defendant, Lau Pak-yui, was among a group of people who threw objects towards a disciplined service officers' quarters.

Handing down sentence, judge Douglas Yau noted that Lau had poured water on a tear gas canister at the anti-government protest, saying this was more serious than solely being present at the scene.

The judge said although there was no evidence to show the defendant had used violence, he had directly challenged the police operation to disperse the crowd and could have driven other people to do something radical.

Yau said a deterrent sentence was therefore needed. The judge said he had adopted a starting point of three years and nine months, before deducting part of that considering Lau's good character, among other factors.