Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Hong Kong justice secretary tries to have prosecution of policeman who shot protester thrown out by ‘assuming conduct’ of case

Hong Kong justice secretary tries to have prosecution of policeman who shot protester thrown out by ‘assuming conduct’ of case

Letters from the Department of Justice to the courts request an early date for a hearing to withdraw summonses in the private prosecution.

Hong Kong’s justice minister appears to have personally stepped in to seek the cancellation of a private prosecution against a police officer who shot a protester during an anti-government demonstration last year, drawing criticisms that her move overrode the rule of law.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung, who filed the legal bid against the policeman, said he was furious at Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yuet-wah’s move, and was considering applying for a judicial review over her “intervention”.

Hui said she had invoked her powers to take control of the proceedings with the aim of having the summons withdrawn.

His party released copies of letters sent to the courts from the Department of Justice saying “the SJ [Secretary of Justice] has intervened and assumed the conduct” of the proceedings under the Magistrates Ordinance.

“We write to request for an early mention date … before August 31, 2020 for the prosecution to withdraw the summonses,” one letter reads, adding that the department does not require the attendance of the defendant.


Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng attends a RTHK radio programme about the national security law in July.


Hui argued that instituting private prosecutions was a right of an ordinary citizen under common law, and that the DOJ had undermined that right.

“The decision blatantly overrides rule of law with rule of man, and condones police violence,” he said. “The Department of Justice did not provide any reasons or legal basis for the decision … They are merely protecting the police regardless of their actions.”

The Department of Justice said on Tuesday that it was not suitable to comment on the case as it had entered judicial proceedings.

The department’s move came one week after the policeman applied for a judicial review to the High Court in an attempt to quash the private prosecution.

It was understood that the officer submitted the application to the High Court hoping to clear the three criminal charges he faced. His filing also included a request for an interim order to stay the proceedings on those charges until the judicial review was determined.

Hui initiated the case against the officer in February using money raised through crowdfunding. In June, Magistrate Lam Tsz-kan allowed Hui to press ahead with a charge of shooting with intent, an offence punishable by life in prison.

Two other firearms charges were also included – discharging ammunition with reckless disregard for others’ safety, and dealing with arms in a way likely to injure or endanger others’ safety. Both carry a maximum jail sentence of seven years.


Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui speaks to the press at the Eastern Law Courts in Sai Wan Ho after launching a private prosecution against the traffic police officer who shot a protester during a protest last November 2019


Hui’s case centres on two people: the protester who survived the shooting on November 11, and another standing nearby.

Although criminal prosecutions are controlled by the secretary of justice, aggrieved residents can bring private prosecutions against others under the city’s common law system, adopted in the colonial era.

Only a few cases are privately prosecuted each year, as opposed to the tens of thousands the secretary for justice brings.

In June, Secretary for Justice Cheng already hinted that her department would consider intervening in a string of high-profile private prosecution proceedings initiated in recent months, including ones related to last year’s social unrest.

“Private prosecutions which are groundless or frivolous or brought out of improper motives or political considerations should not be condoned,” Cheng wrote on her blog by that time.

“We have an obligation to intervene in and discontinue a private prosecution which is considered to have no reasonable prospect of conviction, be contrary to the public interest, be brought out of improper motives, or constitute an abuse of process.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×