HONG KONG--The first person to be tried under Hong Kong's sweeping national security law was found guilty of secessionism and terrorism on Tuesday.

The Hong Kong High Court handed down the verdict in the case of Tong Ying-kit, age 24.

He's accused of driving his motorcycle into a group of police officers while carrying a flag bearing the protest slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" on July 1 last year, a day after Beijing imposed sweeping national security legislation on Hong Kong following months of anti-government protests in 2019.

Tong Ying-kit, who is accused of deliberately driving his motorcycle into a group of police officers on July 1, arrives at the West Kowloon court in Hong Kong on July 6, 2020.

- Tong, 23, charged with inciting secession and one charge of terrorism, became the first person in Hong Kong on July 3 to be charged under Beijing's sweeping new national security law.

The trial, which ended July 20, was held in the High Court with no jury, under rules allowing this exception from Hong Kong's common law system if state secrets need to be protected, foreign forces are involved or if the personal safety of jurors needs to be protected.

While Hong Kong has its own Legislative Council, Beijing's ceremonial legislature imposed the national security law on the semiautonomous city after it determined the body was unable to pass the legislation itself because of political opposition.