Hong Kong protests: student cleared of assaulting policeman after magistrate raises questions about officer’s ‘honesty and reliability’
- Constable Shum Hung-yuen had testified that he was assaulted inside police van
- But medical report raised doubts about his account and he was also unable to explain how defendant Aidan Tam sustained serious injuries
On Monday, magistrate May Chung Ming-sun expressed doubts about the testimony of Constable Shum Hung-yuen, and said he had not explained how the student had suffered serious injuries after his arrest.
The magistrate said Shum’s account of the incident was unconvincing and inconsistent with the facts of the case.
Prosecutors alleged that the officer had been assaulted by Aidan Tam Ho-yu inside a police van at 2am on August 4, after he was arrested on suspicion of participating in an unlawful assembly outside Wong Tai Sin Police Station.
Shum testified at Kwun Tong Court that Tam had resisted violently inside the vehicle, hitting the officer’s left cheek with his head. But a medical report showed that Shum was hit in the right cheek.
Tam, however, suffered a broken nose and facial injuries in the incident.