A hawker was freed yesterday when the Court of Appeal accepted police had beaten a confession out of him. Chung Wai-yip, 23, was jailed for two years last August after District Court Deputy Judge Lung Kim-wan suggested the injuries were self-inflicted. Mr Chung said Detective Constable Chan Chor-kuen had used his knees, fists and elbows to rain heavy blows all over his body. Mr Chung was convicted of chopping Lau Wai-hing, 20, with a beef knife on Shekkipmei Estate on November 10, 1994. Mr Chung said the detective attacked him three times at Cheung Sha Wan police station as he was questioned about the attack. The assault made him double up with pain and left him with severe bruising and swelling to his face and back. He eventually signed a false confession, but retracted the statement as soon as his lawyer arrived, the Court of Appeal heard. Dr Deng Zhong-ming of the Caritas Medical Centre who examined Mr Chung said the injuries were quite severe and consistent with an assault. He added: 'If you regarded the impact of a car accident as great, I would regard the force [used here] as medium.' Yesterday, the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction after agreeing Mr Chung's injuries were consistent with an assault. But the judges stopped short of saying Detective Chan had beaten up Mr Chung at the station on December 14, 1994. They strongly criticised Deputy Judge Lung for suggesting the injuries were self-inflicted. Mr Justice Simon Mayo said: 'It is difficult to see how the judge came to this conclusion . . . According to the medical evidence, had the injuries been self-inflicted it's unlikely they would have been caused to his back.' The court, which also comprised Mr Justice Benjamin Liu and Vice-President Mr Justice Gerald Nazareth, said the conviction was 'unsafe and unsatisfactory'. Deputy Judge Lung said he dismissed the allegations of brutality because there was no medical evidence of injuries to the chest even though Mr Chung claimed he had been hit across the front. But Mr Chung's counsel Michael Poll said the judge had not asked the doctor whether blows to the chest would necessarily leave marks. Police spokesman Eric Lockeyear said violence by officers would not be tolerated in the force. 'We do not beat up suspects. That would be criminal assault just as with anyone else,' he said.
