Two Hong Kong men accused of conspiring to incite people to riot during the 2019 protests and unrest have had their case moved to a higher court, where they face a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment.

Ng Tsz-lok, who is unemployed, and photographer Chan Wai-leong appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday.

The two men have been remanded since they were charged in October over their alleged role in the anti-extradition protests six years ago. Prosecutors have accused them of manufacturing and providing weapons to protesters.

The pair have been charged with conspiring to incite others to take part in a riot, with the date of the offence being October 22 to 23, 2019.

Ng was among a group of defendants acquitted by a High Court jury in September of alleged involvement in three bomb plots in places including a hospital and a car park between November 2019 and March 2020.

With the completion of handover procedures, Magistrate Victor So announced on Thursday the transfer of the case to the District Court.

The maximum penalty at the District Court is seven years’ imprisonment. At the magistrates’ court, the maximum penalty is two years, or three years when a defendant is convicted of more than one offence.

The case will be heard at the District Court on June 2 for the pair to confirm whether they will plead guilty or not guilty, So said.

Ng also faced an additional charge of “incitement to take part in a riot” on November 14, 2019. The prosecution said on Thursday it had changed the charge to “conspiracy to incite others to take part in a riot” and added an additional day – November 15, 2019 – to the offence.

The details of the amended charge specified that the target of Ng’s incitement was an unknown individual and somebody by the name of Lee Tsz-ying – transliterated from Cantonese, as read out in court by the prosecution.

The prosecution also added a new charge for Ng, accusing him of inciting others to riot on different dates, between October 19 and November 8, 2019.

Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”

The movement died down in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic and a national security law imposed by Beijing authorities in June that year.