Beijing and Hong Kong renew pressure on Philippines over four men jailed for life on drug charges
- Hong Kong security minister John Lee says he has written to the Philippine consulate, while Chinese foreign ministry says officials are following up on the case
Beijing and Hong Kong have renewed their calls for the Philippines to ensure the rights are respected of four Hongkongers jailed for life in the country on drug charges.
The Hong Kong government said security minister John Lee Ka-chiu had written to the Philippine consulate on Tuesday to reiterate requests for proper treatment in prison and due legal process.
Lo Wing-fai, Chan Kwok-tung, Kwok Kam-wah and Leung Shu-fook were sentenced last Friday to life in jail for possession of 467.8 grams of methamphetamine.
The families of the four men say they are innocent and have vowed to fight for justice. On Monday they launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise HK$3 million (US$380,000) for legal expenses.
The families said they had expected the court to free the men before Christmas, after evidence was presented showing that police officers who arrested them found no drugs in their bags during an initial search, and only did so after briefly removing several bags from sight.
