Philippine police 'more open' than Hong Kong force, says concern group

The Philippine police force is more transparent than its Hong Kong counterpart in allowing the public to judge if officers use excessive force, a civil rights concern group claims.

The Hong Kong Civil Rights Observer - formed last month by human rights activists to support those arrested during Occupy Central protests - will today submit its findings to the Legislative Council's Panel on Security.

The group is backing a demand by three pan-democratic lawmakers that a sub-committee be formed to explore the issue.

Such a sub-committee was last formed in 2009 to investigate police strip-searches of detainees, which later led to a review of force guidelines and a drastic drop in such searches.

Icarus Wong Ho-yin, a police power observer and group member, said general principles on the use of force were listed in the Philippine National Police's operational procedures manual, available online.

"The guidelines [of the Philippine police] could be more comprehensive and specific, but at least they're made public," Wong said. "The Hong Kong Police Force doesn't have any such document available. A more transparent force would only reduce the mutual suspicion between police and the public."