Magistrate clears last of 14 riot accused, saying identification process was flawed
Police are to consult the Department of Justice to decide if further action needs to be taken following the acquittal of the last of the 14 WTO protesters yesterday.
'We respect the court's judgment. The police will study the judgment in detail in consultation with the Department of Justice before deciding what action, if any, should be taken in respect of it,' a police spokesman said.
Yun Il-kwan, the last protester facing prosecution, was cleared of taking part in the violent anti-WTO protest in December. He walked free yesterday, with a magistrate questioning the identification process.
Andrew Ma Hon-cheung said the outcome may have been different if the police had accepted the actors offered by the defence.
The defence had offered to arrange Korean actors for the identification parade after police pressed charges against 11 Korean protesters for taking part in the rally on December 17, in which poles and barricades were used against police.
But police rejected the offer. They feared using as actors protesters who may have been among the 1,000 arrested that night, since that could have led to more investigations and prosecutions. They used an identification method called the 'group confrontation' after failing to find their own Korean actors. The process involves identification of only the suspects. Mr Ma called the method one of the least satisfactory.