Police attack 'word of mouth' torture report
SENIOR police officers have hit out at an 'alternative' human rights report that is to be presented to the UN and which details alleged complaints of police torture.
The police officers say they may respond to the report's claims with their own submission to the United Nations.
A report being compiled by Human Rights Monitor and the Society of the Community Organisations will detail the SAR's human rights record since the handover, including instances of police misconduct.
Compilers of the document, reported in the Post last Sunday, said water torture was becoming increasingly common in police assault cases.
The Complaints Against Police Office received 985 allegations of assault last year, five alleging the use of water torture. One is still being investigated, two were resolved out of court and one was found to be unsubstantiated. This year, there have been four complaints involving water torture out of 449 claims of assault. These are under investigation.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong Police Service said any information in such a report should be based not on anecdotes but on hard evidence.
'In only one case were criminal charges laid, which resulted in four police officers being found guilty and sentenced,' said Harry Blud for the Commissioner of Police.
'I accept even one case is too much, but water torture is hardly common, according to the figures. The report's allegations should be supported with facts, word of mouth is not enough.' He said depending on the content of the report, to be presented to the UN's Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights later this year, the Police Service may contribute to a government response.
