High-profile lawyer Gerard McCoy was shocked last night at the decision to drop the case against the Wong brothers and was unaware of the plea bargain struck last week. As part of a plea bargain, no evidence was offered against Wong Kwai-nam and brother Kwai-fun on a charge of blackmailing Mr McCoy when the case came to court yesterday. Mr McCoy, who is in New Zealand, was expecting to give evidence against the pair following his return to the territory next week. He said he would not have been told the reasons behind the decision to abandon the prosecution because he was a witness. But the normally loquacious lawyer refused to comment further when the South China Morning Post broke the news to him last night. Mr McCoy was given 24-hour armed protection last October after police suspected he was a target of the same hate campaign waged against Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang. He was so concerned about his family's safety, he moved them back to his native New Zealand. Sources said he was worried for his eight-year-old son and five-year-old daughter. In Hong Kong, Mr McCoy was provided with a bodyguard. The lawyer, who has practised in Hong Kong for more than 10 years, now divides his time between the territory and New Zealand. Friends said the family had been planning to move back to New Zealand for some time for the sake of the children's education. But Mr McCoy brought the departure forward as a result of the perceived threats. Speaking from a hotel in Auckland last night, Mr McCoy was taken aback by the decision to drop the prosecution. The lawyer, who represented Wong Kwai-fun at his appeal, said: 'It's not appropriate for me to say anything at this stage. I am not going to comment.'
