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Norma Connolly

Legislators are urging police to take the  vandalising of political promotional posters  seriously and have asked authorities to consider the act a form of  criminal  intimidation.

Lawmakers at the Legislative Council security panel meeting yesterday  questioned how seriously police took their reports of damage to banners bearing their pictures.

Democratic Party legislator James To Kun-sun  described seeing one of his  posters defaced with the  phrase 'Kill the dog' and asked police officials: 'Why is this not considered intimidation?'

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) John Lee Ka-chiu  said his officers took reports of the defacing of political banners seriously and investigated each case.

But he admitted that without knowing the motive behind  the acts  it was not possible to classify  the cases as criminal intimidation.

Government officials said that since 2002 there had been 28 cases of violence against public figures, and that 11 had been solved - a 39 per cent clearance rate.

But legislators, including Emily Lau Wai-hing  of The Frontier whose Tai Po office walls were smeared with excrement in 2004, asked police to be more specific and requested that figures relating to the damage to banners be provided at a future meeting.

Lawmakers had asked that police supply statistics on apprehensions for assaults on public figures following the attack on Democrat Albert Ho Chun-yan  in a Central fast-food restaurant in August.

While commending police for making arrests following the attack on Mr Ho, legislator Cheung Man-kwong urged them  to continue investigating this and other political violence  cases.

Seven people have been arrested in connection with  Mr Ho's assault  and four have been charged and will appear in Eastern Court on Friday.  Two were released on  bail pending further inquiries.

Meanwhile, the Narcotics Division yesterday said it would consider recommending the  launch of a regulatory body to oversee more than 1,700 remittance agents and money-exchange operators in an effort to  combat money laundering.

The government is  considering requiring money changers and remittance agents to verify customers' identities for amounts of more than HK$8,000 rather than HK$20,000.



Lawmakers want police clampdown on defacing of political posters