Hong Kong judge orders installation of surveillance cameras to monitor activities of defendant released on bail
- High Court judge says courts often find it hard to decide whether to grant bail because it is difficult to assess whether a defendant will reoffend or abscond
- But not granting bail to a defendant effectively means jailing him before he is convicted, Justice Albert Wong says
A technician who has been charged with allegedly manufacturing a bomb outside a village house in northern Hong Kong will face round-the-clock surveillance after he was granted bail on Friday.
In an unprecedented arrangement, High Court judge Justice Albert Wong Sung-hau ordered surveillance cameras to be installed at Wong Wai-yin’s home, the warehouse he works at, and three other locations as requested by police.
Wong, 29, faces one count of making explosive substance dinitrotoluene (DNT) on January 16 near Ng Uk Tsuen in Sheung Shui. He was remanded in jail custody later that day after being brought to Fanling Magistrates’ Court.
The presiding judge also ordered Wong to pay a cash bail of HK$600,000 (US$77,240) and submit the names of three sureties, each of whom had to fork out a deposit of HK$50,000.
Wong was required to report to a police station every day and was barred from leaving the city.
