A former policewoman who secretly taped the conversations of undercover officers before they testified at her husband's trial has been jailed for six months for giving false evidence.
A lawyer acting for Ng Wai-bing described her prosecution for perjury as a 'violent reaction' from the government, which blamed her for causing it lose the 2007 case against her husband, Cheung Sai-kit.
Judge Kim Longley yesterday held that Ng, 55, lied to the court when she said she had notified a litigation clerk in her husband's legal team about the existence of the recordings in December 2007. She had, in fact, told him the previous May.
In the District Court, Longley said the lie stopped prosecutors finding out if Cheung or his lawyers played a role in making the recordings.
He referred the case to the Law Society and the Bar Association to investigate any involvement by Cheung's lawyers and clerks.
Longley acquitted Ng on a charge of perverting the course of justice, saying the prosecution had not proved its contention that she tampered with the recordings.
Ng, a police officer for 27 years until she retired in 2002, has already been convicted of contempt of court for making the recordings and sentenced to nine months' jail, suspended for 18 months.