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SCMP Reporter

A High Court judge yesterday cleared the ICAC of unlawfully detaining a secretary who claimed to have been held by the graft-busters against her will at an unknown location.

Mr Justice Michael Hartmann ruled in the Court of First Instance that there had been no unlawful detention of Becky Wong Pui-sze by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

At a closed-door hearing, he discharged a writ of habeas corpus granted by Mr Justice David Yam Yee-kwan  on Thursday after taking into account a statement filed by ICAC Commissioner Raymond Wong Hung-chiu  and an affirmation from an unknown source.

The commissioner, who was in court yesterday, said in the statement that Ms Wong had been in the lawful custody of the ICAC for a period of time but 'as from a particular date has not been detained and is not at this time detained'.

Mr Justice Hartmann said the affirmation confirmed Ms Wong was not unlawfully detained and  'not prevented from communicating with persons'.

He concluded, 'There is no unlawful detention of the subject. The writ is therefore discharged.'

Ms Wong's whereabouts remained unknown yesterday.

Employed as a secretary for Derek Wong Chong-kwong,  the chairman of listed company Semtech International Holdings, Ms Wong was arrested with her boss and seven other people  on July 9 over alleged payments of more than $1.5 million to bankers and analysts to manipulate Semtech's share price.

The commission has said the nine have since been released on bail. But a writ of habeas corpus was filed on Wednesday alleging Ms Wong was being held against her will.

In a habeas corpus case, a judge orders the person to be brought before the court to investigate the right of the authorities to keep that person imprisoned.

Outside the court, ICAC Commissioner  Wong said he welcomed the verdict but refused to say whether Ms Wong was still with the ICAC.

A legal source said on Thursday she was in the commission's witness protection programme.

In a letter filed by barrister Kevin Egan to the ICAC earlier, Ms Wong's 'business partner' Mandy Chui Man-si  said that she had been contacted by Ms Wong on Sunday evening. Ms Wong told her she was being 'held against her will' and she wished to be released immediately.

The letter said Ms Wong tried to use her mobile phone to contact Ms Chui on Sunday, July 11, but the SIM card was confiscated after an ICAC officer saw the call destination. But Ms Wong had a spare SIM card which she used to activate the phone and she called Ms Chui from a toilet cubicle.

'Ms Wong was adamant that she  wished to leave 'protective custody',' the letter said.

Ms Chui has instructed solicitors firm Massie & Clement and Mr Egan to make a formal complaint to the Hong Kong Police Force that the ICAC is holding Ms Wong against her will.

In affirmation,  Frankie Chung Cheong-kuen, a solicitor's clerk of C.K. Mok & Co, said Ms Wong had called him on Wednesday at 1am and she sounded 'frightened on the phone'.

Mr Chung added Ms Wong said she was 'being kept by ICAC people' but that she did not know where she was.

Mr Chung and Mr Egan tried earlier to see Ms Wong at the ICAC headquarters in Central but  were told she was not there.



ICAC has not illegally detained woman in fraud case, judge finds