All four defendants spent time in custody after their arrests in August 2021. Cheung, Kwok and Todorovski were denied bail, while Yung was granted bail, but remained in custody after the prosecutors appealed. But prosecutors agreed to let the students plead guilty to an alternative charge of incitement to wound with intent, which is punishable by up to life imprisonment, although jail terms meted out by the District Court are capped atseven years. Cats and dogs were killed, as it was believed that they might spread the plague. It is estimated that 40,000 dogs and 200,000 cats were killed. Searchers had the job of entering the home of suspected plague victims to search for bodies, and removing them to be placed in plague burial pits. The emergency meeting was convened by Cheung, at the time the chair of the union council. He opened the meeting by inviting attendees to observe a moment of silence to remember the “honourable sacrifice” of Leung to Hong Kong.

Reading out the facts of the case, Tse said the charge related to statements made at a student union council meeting on July 7, 2021, when the student body passed a resolution to mourn the death of Leung Kin-fai. Six days before, Leung had killed himself shortly after stabbing a police officer outside a mall in Causeway Bay on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s Handover from British to Chinese rule. Former HKU Student Union Council chairperson Kinson Cheung hugs former University of Hong Kong student leader Yung Chung-hei outside Hong Kong’s District Court in Wan Chai on September 20, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Date and time

Tse took a 35-month sentence as the starting point for each defendant, deducting from it on account of their guilty plea and their age to arrive at two years. The students were between 18 and 21 at the time of the incident. ‘Martyr’ motion London was not the only place in England to suffer an outbreak of the plague. One of the worst affected locations beyond London was Eyam, a village in Derbyshire. Instructing fires to be lit in the street, so people could breathe in the smell of smoke, rather than the miasma believed to be causing the disease. are providing guidance to people who have suffered a bereavement and need help understanding the financial support available to them

Evidence produced at the time of the Great Plague gives us useful information about what people did to try and prevent the plague from spreading. Some actions taken by the government included: She added that she disputed a statement made by Todorovski’s defence counsel the defendants had played different roles in the offence. The University of Hong Kong on October 10, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. They also share insights and the voices of the people we support, campaigning for change to ensure that everyone can afford a dignified funeral. Who is this session for?

About the organiser

Historians believe that the plague arrived in the village when a box of cloth was delivered from London to Alexander Hadfield, who was the local tailor. This cloth was infested with fleas; when Hadfield’s assistant opened the box he was bitten and died shortly after, along with other members of his household. Public gatherings were banned, and people were not allowed to travel from one town to another unless they had a certificate proving they didn’t have plague.