LettersHong Kong police fail the test on professional ethics and integrity

Force values deemed “necessary to maintain confidence” in Hong Kong police are universal ones that contribute to the safety and stability of any society. But the latest high-profile events suggest a lack of compliance with the force’s own requirements.

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Eastern district councillor Jocelyn Chau Hui-yan, charged with assaulting a policeman a year ago, leaves Eastern Court on August 11. The following day, Chau and her co-defendant were acquitted by the magistrate who said the officers involved “were not honest and reliable witnesses”. Photo: Brian Wong

Published: 6:25am, 14 Aug 2020Updated: 6:25am, 14 Aug 2020

Once hailed as “Asia’s finest”, the beleaguered Hong Kong Police Force has again seen its ethics and integrity come under fire this week. The offer of special access to friendly media outlets at the Jimmy Lai/Apple Daily briefing highlighted a shocking lack of impartiality, while Magistrate Stanley Ho had to admonish officers for “telling lie after lie” in the trial of district councillor Jocelyn Chau.

Hong Kong has hard and fast rules as regards corruption that apply to all members of government including the police, though the rules for compliance with ethical values and integrity requirements are much less discussed.

Tucked away under the “Useful Information” tab of the Hong Kong police website homepage is a section with the arresting title of “Ethics and Integrity in the Hong Kong Police Force”. Running to a weighty 16 pages, it opens with: “The Hong Kong Police Force … expects all members to be fully aware of the need to comply with the Force Values and maintain a high level of personal integrity”, then states the need to “embed ethics and police integrity as our core policing philosophies throughout the entire organisation”.

Seemingly robust arrangements are in place, by way of integrity officers and integrity committees, so as to ensure compliance.

“Force Values” deemed “necessary to maintain confidence in the Force” and which every member of the police is required to comply with include: integrity, honesty, respect, fairness, impartiality, compassion, responsibility, accountability and professionalism. These are universal values that contribute to the safety and stability of any society, and in a global financial capital like Hong Kong are expected to apply proportionately between government, police and society.

Neither of the events I refer to would have been news had the Hong Kong police been in compliance with their own ethics and integrity requirements. Arguably Hong Kong would be in a very different situation today if a year ago the police had complied, as they were required to, with their own ethics and integrity requirements.

David Allardice, Mid-Levels