Hong Kong protests: 2 judges accused of misconduct over cases linked to 2019 unrest cleared of wrongdoing after judiciary probes
- Judge Ernest Lin had asked members of the public in yellow masks in the viewing gallery to remove the face gear
- Magistrate Stanley Ho was accused of politically charged remarks over the arrest of a teen who had hurled petrol bombs at police facility
Two Hong Kong judges accused of misconduct in cases centred on the 2019 anti-government protests, including ordering court attendees to remove their yellow masks, have been cleared of wrongdoing following judiciary probes.
In one of the complaints, Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung was accused of issuing instructions in the courtroom without justification when he ordered three people in the public gallery wearing yellow masks – a colour linked to protesters – to change the face gear if they wanted to continue attending the proceedings on January 11 last year at the District Court.
Lin was hearing the guilty pleas of four suspects who took part in an illegal assembly in Kowloon Bay in September 2019.
According to media reports, at least one of the yellow masks worn by the three attendees carried the letters “FDNOL”, believed to be a reference to the popular protest slogan “Five demands, not one less”. The rallying cry was also considered a possible breach of the Beijing-imposed national security law under internal police guidelines.
The complaints were first submitted to a three-member panel of judges, before being passed to the advisory committee for consultation.
The panel of judges concluded that Lin’s instructions were appropriate as the court was not a platform for political campaigns, and that the rights of court users were fully protected as they could continue to observe the proceedings.