I have no idea if detained candidate was set up: Justice Woo
The election chief yesterday played down Democrats' suggestions that the controversy surrounding the detention of party candidate Alex Ho Wai-to in Dongguan was part of a smear campaign.
But Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing, chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, stopped short of defending the arrest of Mr Ho, saying he did not know the motives behind the case.
He also said Mr Ho, who is ranked third on the Democratic Party's list in Kowloon East, is still a candidate in Sunday's Legco election even if he cannot return to the city.
'If he is registered as a candidate, then he is eligible to stand in the election, whether or not he chooses to spend [election day] outside Hong Kong,' he said.
His comments came a day after Dongguan Public Security Bureau released a series of explicit photographs, including one showing Mr Ho half-naked, which it said was evidence that he had hired a prostitute in Dongguan.
Mr Ho was arrested on August 13 and accused of hiring a prostitute in the Haiyi Hotel in Humen, Dongguan. He signed a confession and, without being tried in court, was ordered to undergo six months' re-education through labour.
