Investigation into alleged threats against magistrate who jailed woman for 'assaulting cop with her breast'
Hong Kong’s justice minister has expressed concern over a magistrate’s revelation that he had been threatened since he found a woman protester guilty of assaulting a police officer with her breast.
The Department of Justice and police are looking into alleged threats to the safety of a magistrate who jailed a woman protester for assaulting a police officer with her breast, the justice minister said.
Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said yesterday that his department would consider launching judicial proceedings if it had sufficient evidence to back up the magistrate's case.
Detectives are believed to be checking comments made on the internet and social media to see whether any crime is involved.
READ MORE: Hong Kong magistrate reveals he received threats before sentencing protester accused of assaulting cop with her breast
"Should there be any conduct or comment that may have committed … contempt of court or other criminal offences, then we would follow up the matter with police," Yuen said.
"Hong Kong is a society that respects the rule of law very much, and respecting the rule of law includes respecting the decisions of the judiciary. Therefore, we need to be very careful and not allow this trend to continue."
On Thursday, Deputy Magistrate Michael Chan Pik-kiu, of Tuen Mun Court, said he feared for his safety after convicting Ng Lai-ying, 30, a month ago of using her breast to bump against Chief Inspector Chan Ka-po at an anti-parallel-goods trading protest in Yuen Long on March 1.
Chan jailed Ng for three months and 15 days but granted her bail pending an appeal, along with three co-defendants.
Yesterday, Yuen said Chan indicated he had received certain threats over the convictions.
"I understand there were protests about [Chan's verdict] and the posters and pictures used were insulting. There were also people chanting, including abuse, outside the court on the day of the verdict," Yuen said.
"A court verdict has to be respected. No act, opinion or criticism should cross the legal boundary … and judges should not be insulted."
He said a defendant who was unhappy about a verdict could consider launching an appeal.