Fury as corrupt ex-Hong Kong prosecutor Warwick Reid sets up new legal firm
Anger and disgust in HK as disgraced lawyer Warwick Reid, jailed for taking bribes in 1990, sets up as a legal specialist in New Zealand
A top Hong Kong prosecutor jailed for corruption has caused outrage in the city by reinventing himself as a legal services expert.
Warwick Reid, a former acting deputy director of public prosecutions, was sentenced to eight years in 1990 for taking HK$12.4 million in bribes. He was deported to his native New Zealand after serving four years.
But Reid, the most senior legal figure to be jailed for corruption in Hong Kong history, has now set up a company in his hometown of Tauranga.
Also, Reid's career biography on the site fails to mention his fall from grace here and a later term behind bars in New Zealand for perverting the course of justice in another Hong Kong case. His new venture has brought an angry and astonished outcry from the city's legal community.
Director of Public Prosecutions Kevin Zervos said: "Reid committed very serious crimes in Hong Kong as a lawyer and it is a matter of grave concern that he can provide legal services in another jurisdiction."
Zervos said he found it astonishing that someone whose offences struck at the very heart of the justice system should be allowed to offer legal advice of any kind. "He's obviously hoping that people have forgotten. But in matters this serious, it is everyone's job to make sure no one forgets," he added.