The Worm has turned.

"His best mitigation is his guilty plea." Judge Amanda Woodcock.

After months of a relentless battering in the press and on social media, the besieged Hong Kong Police Force has something to celebrate. Meanwhile, I expect that bottoms are twitching amongst the 1,600 folks arrested and charged for public order offences.

Today, the district court handed down a four-year prison sentence for rioting. The defendant, a 22-year-old male, was part of the disturbance outside our parliament on 12th June 2019.

This judgement is significant for several reasons. First, the defendant pleaded guilty and displayed considerable remorse. That contrition should have earned him a significant discount on sentencing. The charge of rioting carries a maximum 10-year jail sentence, although the starting point for first offenders is around five to six years. 

In passing sentence, the judge said "Such violence cannot be tolerated in a civilised and diversified society. His best mitigation is his guilty plea." Without a doubt, the message is clear; taking part in a riot isn't a smart idea. 

Meanwhile, those awaiting trial will now be scrambling to revisit their pleas. If a guilty plea earns a defendant four years, then conviction after trial must invite a higher sentence. That's a sobering thought.

Second, the call to drop the riot characterisation — one of the five demands of the protest movement — is now affirmed as hopeless. Simply put, the court has judged the event a riot and sentenced this man to jail.

This demand was always a non-starter because it amounts to suspending the rule of law in the interests of a specific group. If one group could secure such a privilege, then you set a terrible precedent. Who's to say that someone else couldn't come along to demand the 'get out of jail free card'. 

Meanwhile, after a delay caused by a failed judicial review, the Independent Police Complaints Commission published its thematic study into police actions during 2019. 

The IPCC went looking for cancer and found eczema. In its findings, the Police Force comes cleared of the outrageous allegations made by the militants. The IPCC review affirms that Police only used force in response to escalating violence. ​

Furthermore, the IPCC concludes the use of force was in accord with international standards. Any rational person could see that for themselves. Only those with an agenda have sought to distort what happened. 

Also addressed by the IPCC are various critical incidents. These include the events at Yuen Long on 21 July 2019 and Prince Edward Station on 31 August 2019.

The IPCC has a far better understanding of the sequence of these events than the media or the militant's PR machine. Their edited videos and deliberate distortions don't cut the mustard. 

For the Prince Edward incident, the IPCC details the build-up, including the attacks on innocent passengers by protesters. Much of the media coverage ignored that sequence of events and only portrayed police action. Seen in context, the Police acted appropriately. 

Moreover, the detail provided by the IPCC exposes the lies of deaths and Police obstructing medical teams. Likewise, the IPCC concludes there is no evidence to substantiate claims the Police colluded with triads in Yuen Long. 

Serious allegations, such as a female being shot in the eye outside Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station on 11 August 2019 and other females being allegedly sexually assaulted at San Uk Ling Holding Centre and police stations, are not covered. 

Why? Well, because the purported victims did not come forward to complain to IPCC. One of these alleged victims is now wanted for making a false report to Police. 

In fairness, the IPCC doesn't exonerate the Police. Noting that improvements are needed; it makes several recommendations. 

Of course, this report will not appease the opposition. They view everything through a distorted prism of prejudice, thus facts are irrelevant to them. Already, in a childish hissy fit, Pan Dem legislator Lam Cheuk-ting ripped up a copy of the report. 

​That gesture sums up the Pan Dems. Instead of dealing with the issues by debate, they'd rather destroy the evidence. They live in a world that is best described as 'post-real' — where facts have no standing; only selfish opinions matter.

Some of these irrational types will only be content with the disbandment of the Police so they can run wild on the streets. That's never going to happen, and it's starting to unravel for the protest movement. So what's the scorecard looking like (thanks Digger) 

• Extradition bill - withdrawn! 
• Stop calling it a riot - courts have ruled it was a riot! 
• Amnesty for rioters - hard to defend this claim when one of your own pleads guilty to riot. 
• Universal suffrage - It is blatantly clear this is nothing but a sectarian independence movement with little to do with democracy 
• Independent investigation - the IPCC report is out and puts the blame squarely on the rioters. Sorry. 
  
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"Five demands, not one left!".