Hong Kong police chief accuses Apple Daily of running targeted campaign against him, reveals the newspaper is being investigated for alleged fraud
- Police commissioner Chris Tang says newspaper escalated attack on the force after its founder, Jimmy Lai, was arrested for taking part in illegal protests
- The newspaper recently ran a series of reports concerning allegedly illegal structures at the residence of Tang and other senior officers
Hong Kong’s police chief effectively declared war on Apple Daily on Tuesday, accusing it of running a targeted campaign against him, and revealing that the tabloid-style newspaper was being investigated for alleged fraud and land-lease violations.
Tang dismissed allegations he had turned a blind eye to the illegal structures at his former residence, but said the force would launch an internal investigation into the four officers’ cases and look into whether criminality was involved in one of them.
“Since we have arrested a media boss and a bunch of powerful people on April 18, actions targeting police have been escalating,” Tang said, referring to the round up of 15 veterans and opposition camp supporters, including Lai, for their roles in some of the unlawful protests late last year.
“Their goal is to scare us, so we dare not to enforce [the law] on them. They can therefore remain at large.
“I am not afraid that rioters or local terrorists would hurt me with a bomb. As long as I live, I will arrest all lawbreakers for the sake of justice,” Tang said at a Legislative Council meeting.