Hong Kong independent police watchdog upholds internal force investigation rejection of complaint by reporter hit by sponge grenade in 2019 social unrest
- Independent Police Complaints Council says reporter failed to provide sufficient evidence of ‘unnecessary use of authority’
- But IPCC emphasises decision did not mean complaint was not ‘credible’ or that the force was free of wrongdoing
Hong Kong’s police watchdog has backed the force’s dismissal of a complaint lodged by a former radio reporter who accused an officer of “unnecessary use of authority” after he was hit in the back by a sponge grenade as he covered a 2019 anti-government protest.
The Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) highlighted that Raymond Cheng, who worked for Commercial Radio at the time, had not provided any new information after he filed an application last September to review the findings of the force’s internal Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) investigation.
Cheng on Monday said he disagreed with the results of the investigations into the incident, which happened on November 16, 2019.
“I’m extremely disappointed that the police and the council still maintain a false conclusion after the review of the case,” he said.
He was speaking after CAPO earlier told Cheng that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate his claim, which was made a month after the incident.