Warrants for phone tappers rejected

A private member's bill which would require phone tappers to obtain warrants has been rejected by the Government.

Democratic Party legislator James To Kun-sun said the Government had told him the bill would have a 'charging effect'. It said it would cost taxpayers' money because of the greater workload.

But Mr To said the Government's claim was hypocritical.

'Superficially, the Government agrees to introduce legislation to protect individuals' right to privacy.

'But in reality, it unreasonably seeks to impede legislators from introducing a private member's bill. This clearly indicates the hypocrisy of the Government,' Mr To said.

The Government's claims about workload were unreasonable, he said.