We must move with the times to maintain public trust in Hong Kong’s justice system, says first woman public prosecutor to be made senior counsel
But Anna Lai rejects suggestions of falling standards as conviction rates in lower courts remain stubbornly low
Prosecution work is always hard and prosecutors must keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice to maintain public confidence in Hong Kong’s justice system, according to the city’s first female public prosecutor to be made a senior counsel.
Senior assistant director of public prosecutions Anna Lai Yuen-kee, 57, who received the top honour for local legal practitioners on Saturday, said in an interview with local media that prosecution work was held to a higher standard than ever before as the law kept advancing.
“It’s like building a brick wall,” she said. “Evidence presented by the prosecution in a criminal trial must be beyond a reasonable doubt.”
While noting there was always room for improvement in the city’s prosecution work, she rejected suggestions that their performance was deteriorating and that conviction rates in the lower courts were too low.
According to figures provided by the Department of Justice, conviction rates at magistracy level over the past six years have remained little changed at around 50 per cent after trial.