‘Conflict of interest’: Mong Kok riot probe likely to be led by director of police operation
Questions raised of a possible conflict of interest if police commissioner appoints assistant to investigate tactics blamed for high injury toll
The policeman in charge of the Mong Kok riot operations is likely to chair a review of what happened that night, sparking concern about the impartiality of the probe, the Post has learnt.
To quell the anger of frontline officers who blame the high injury toll suffered at the hands of the street mob on police tactics, Police Commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung on Friday promised a review of operations.
A senior police source close to the matter told the Post that Lo intended to appoint Senior Assistant Commissioner Alan Lau Yip-shing, who is director of operations, to lead the review committee.
The source said many fellow officers questioned if Lau was the right candidate as he made most of the decisions that night.
READ MORE: ‘Stunned’ Hong Kong police reject official review of tactics and equipment for Mong Kok riot, believe it’s a ‘whitewash’
“There is surely a conflict of interest if Lau takes the lead,” the source told.
“Lau is always the man who is responsible for operation reviews, but definitely not this time. What’s the point of the review if the chairman actually participated widely in the operation?”
The source said Lo should appoint a man who was completely hand-offs during the Mong Kok chaos to lead the investigation.
“Above Lau, only Lo and two deputy commissioners leading operations and management respectively are left in the list.”
The chairman of the Junior Police Officers’ Association, Joe Chan Cho-kwong, who was invited to take part in the committee, echoed the view and said Lau was not the right choice.
The riot in Mong Kok erupted on February 8, the first night of the Lunar Year, and exposed intelligence and response failings of police.
The Post reported earlier that much of anger among officers was a result of a refusal to allow the use of tear gas and rubber bullets to keep the mob at bay, which resulted in nearly 100 police officers being injured and the firing of two live warning shots.
The Legislative Council’s security panel will hold a special meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss how the police handled the riot. It is understood that Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok and Lau will attend the meeting.
READ MORE: Beijing signals less tolerant approach in branding instigators of Mong Kok riot as Hong Kong ‘separatists’
In the latest development, a 30-year-old immigration officer named Chu was arrested on Saturday afternoon over an alleged Facebook post claiming he would donate HK$10,000 for each murder of a police officer.
Chu was arrested in Yuen Long on suspicion of “misleading officers by false information” and “accessing a computer with criminal or dishonest intent”, hours after he called police claiming his Facebook account had been hacked. He was released on bail last night and has to report to the police in mid-March.
“The relevant address posted on his Facebook account was made by Chu himself, not hackers,” a source said.
The Immigration Department said it had no comment as the matter was still under investigation.