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Lana Lam

The amount of time Hong Kong puts criminal suspects behind bars before they come to trial has increased by almost 40 days over five years, a development that one legal expert says ought to "shock the conscience".
Justice delayed is justice denied, lawyers and legal scholars warn, though they say the increased complexity of court cases and a shortage of judges are probably factors in the delays.
The average custody period was 99.5 days last year, up from 80 days in 2010 and 60 days in 2008, Correctional Services Department data shows. The department could not say how many of those detained were later acquitted or received a sentence shorter than the period they spent locked up.
The number of detainees awaiting trial has risen as well, although the prison population is at a 10-year low.
Currently, 1,657 people are remanded behind bars, up from the daily average of 1,567 last year and 1,388 in 2012.
A lawyer who helped draft the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance deplored the lengthened detentions.
"It's an alarming trend, if there's no good, valid reason for it," said Michael Blanchflower, a senior barrister with 28 years' experience in Hong Kong courts. "Ninety-nine days is a long time to spend on remand in Lai Chi Kok," he said, referring to the detention facility.
Blanchflower said cases had become more complicated, but that was no excuse for the sharp rise in remand times.
"Some cases being tried today are longer and more complex than those tried 15, 20 years ago," which demanded more time for preparation, he said.
"The person who is caught with possession of drugs or the simple burglary, assault or robbery cases - those existed years ago, so for somebody to have spent 60 days on remand five years ago and 99 days now, something is wrong," Blanchflower added.
Robert Precht, director of Hong Kong think tank Justice Labs, echoed those sentiments.
"Remand in custody is basically taking away a person's freedom before there is any formal finding by a court that he is guilty of any crime," Precht said.
"When I was a public defender in New York City in the 1980s, a remand lasting more than three days would be considered a cause for concern. An average remand time of 99 days would shock the conscience."
Johannes Chan Man-mun, former law dean at the University of Hong Kong, said the shortage of judges was a major factor for the problem.
"I know of many High Court/Court of Appeal judges who have to use their personal leave and holiday to write judgments simply because the workload is such that they have one case after another," Chan said.
A judiciary spokeswoman said it was "inappropriate" to comment on custody periods and declined to reveal how many vacancies there are for jurists.
"The progress of legal proceedings, including the granting of bail and detention of the accused pending trial, depends on individual circumstances and the complexity of each case," she said.
Lawyer Michael Vidler labelled the upward trend as a scandal given the detainees had yet to be convicted.
"Justice delayed is justice denied," he said.
Another lawyer said: "A lot of time is wasted. If you go to the lower courts, nothing much seems to happen before 10.15am. It should be starting at 9.30am sharp.
"In the 1980s, there was an outcry about the length of time cases were taking to come on. Then there was a huge improvement. It seems from these statistics we are slipping into bad old ways again."


Lawyers sound alarm at time Hong Kong suspects spend on remand

The average time for criminal suspects to spend in custody was 99.5 days last year.

News

Hong Kong

Shocking, scandalous, worrying - legal experts voice concerns at sharp increase in period criminal suspects spend behind bars before trial


The amount of time Hong Kong puts criminal suspects behind bars before they come to trial has increased by almost 40 days over five years, a development that one legal expert says ought to "shock the conscience".


Lawyers sound alarm at time Hong Kong suspects spend on remand

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Shocking, scandalous, worrying - legal experts voice concerns at sharp increase in period criminal suspects spend behind bars before trial

Shocking, scandalous, worrying - legal experts voice concerns at sharp increase in period criminal suspects spend behind bars before trial