as the severance did not affect the conviction. Justice Bokhary PJ dissented, noting in his judgment that the whole statutory scheme should be struck down except the entitlement to notification. Obstruction of a public place On 14 March 2002, a number of Falun Gong practitioners were engaged in a peaceful demonstration outside the main entrance to the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Their number varied from 4 to 16 over time, hence rendering the statutory restriction scheme inapplicable. It was still possible to access the Liaison Office via a vehicular driveway. After warnings were ignored by the demonstrators, the superintendent in charge ordered his officers to arrest and remove them. The demonstrators resisted arrest but were eventually forcibly removed using heavy-handed tactics and loaded on board police vehicles. When they arrived at the police station, female demonstrators refused to leave the vehicles. Police officers took action to carry them off the vehicles but the demonstrators resisted and assaulted the officers. The demonstrators were charged with obstruction of public place. The Court of Final Appeal, constituted by the same judges in Leung Kwok-hung and Others v. HKSAR, allowed the appeal from the defendants and quashed all convictions. The court stressed that any physical obstruction of a public place must be accompanied by the element of "without a lawful excuse" in order to constitute an offence. If a person is merely using public place reasonably, they cannot be said to be acting without lawful excuse. When obstruction results from a peaceful demonstration, the constitutionally protected right is introduced into the equation for reasonableness. The court concluded the demonstrators were acting with reasonable excuse and acquitted them with regard to the offense of obstruction of public place. Freedom of religion The freedom of religion is protected by Article 32 of the Basic Law and Article 15 of the Bill of Rights. The practice of Falun Gong is legal and tolerated in Hong Kong. However, in 2003 Falun Gong protestors were charged with obstruction of a public place after a peaceful demonstration outside the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. They were initially convicted before the magistrate, but were eventually acquitted of all charges by the Court of Final Appeal. Furthermore, the HKSAR government was repeatedly accused of refusing entry to Falun Gong practitioners for allegedly political