Seven Hong Kong police officers 'to face charges and court this week' for beating Occupy protester Ken Tsang
Hong Kong police have moved a step closer to deciding whether to prosecute seven of their own officers accused of beating a protester during Occupy protests a year ago.
Seven police officers accused of beating an activist in one of the most controversial incidents of last year's Occupy protests are expected to be charged before the end of this week.
A police source close to the investigation told the South China Morning Post the officers - from the force's specialist Organised Crime and Triad Bureau and Kwun Tong CID - would face court later this week.
The seven, who have been suspended from duty for months, are accused of beating activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu in Admiralty a year ago tomorrow.
A separate source said the officers would face either assault or wounding charges.
The incident - which played out in almost full view of television cameras - stoked anger among protesters and poured fuel on the fire of the worst protests in recent Hong Kong history.
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Justice minister Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said: "The Department of Justice has given our legal advice to the police last week. At this stage, it would not be appropriate for me to reveal the details of the legal advice. But I believe and I understand the police would be acting upon our advice."
Yuen insisted that there were "absolutely no political considerations being taken into account when making decisions in relation to the seven police officers".
He said it had taken the department a year to give the advice because the Occupy movement had increased the caseload of the force and the department had to seek opinion from overseas lawyers.
On October 15 last year, television pictures appeared to show the officers kicking and punching Civic Party member Tsang in a dark corner after his arrest following clashes between police and pro-democracy protesters in Lung Wo Road, Admiralty.
Weeks later the officers were suspended from duty and formally arrested on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm and released on bail.
"Until the government finally decides to prosecute, no one should be positive or feel happy," Tsang told a radio programme yesterday.
He added that over the past year, neither the Department of Justice nor police had contacted him or his legal representatives about the investigation.
However, the force's internal Complaints Against Police Office (Capo), which is heading the investigation, had contacted him.
A police spokesman said: "The police have received legal opinions from the Department of Justice, and are now following up according to directions."
Additional reporting by Allen Au-yeung
