Social worker loses bid to challenge riot retrial
Social worker Jackie Chen has failed to secure an appeal against a court's decision to quash her acquittal in a rioting case and put her on trial again.  Chen was originally cleared of rioting in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay on August 31, 2019, after District Court judge Sham Siu-man ruled she had no case to answer. But the Department of Justice lodged an appeal, and the Court of Appeal subsequently ordered a retrial, saying the trial judge had erred in his decision. In August, Chen applied for permission to appeal against the retrial decision. But judges Jeremy Poon, Derek Pang and Anthea Pang on Tuesday rejected the application, saying an appeal would not deal with any "point of law of great and general importance". They also dismissed Chen’s argument that her case needs to be dealt with by the Court of Final Appeal.