South China Morning Post
Advertisement
Advertisement
Hong Kong localism and independence
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo said detectives were handling the case against Junius Ho. Photo: Edward Wong
Hong KongPolitics

Junius Ho’s ‘killed mercilessly’ comment to be probed ‘fairly’, Hong Kong police chief says

Stephen Lo Wai-chung also brushed aside accusations that the force was biased as controversial lawmaker is from pro-establishment camp

Hong Kong localism and independence
Kimmy Chung
Kimmy Chung
Why you can trust SCMP

The comments by a pro-establishment lawmaker who called for pro-independence activists to be “killed mercilessly” would be investigated “fairly”, Hong Kong’s police chief said on Saturday.

Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo Wai-chung said the case involving legislator Junius Ho Kwan-yiu had been handed over to detectives under the Hong Kong Island team, which would seek advice from the Department of Justice if needed. No one has been arrested.

“We investigate each case fairly and justly ... We can only make arrests when we have reasonable grounds to suspect that someone had violated the Hong Kong ordinances,” Lo said, brushing aside accusations that police were biased as Ho was from the pro-establishment camp.

Lawmaker Junius Ho at a Tamar Park rally calling for the dismissal of HKU scholar Benny Tai. Photo: Felix Wong

On Tuesday, former pan-democratic lawmaker Gary Fan Kwok-wai, took the case to police after Ho challenged people to report him for earlier remarks made at a rally.

Fan accused Ho of breaching the Public Order Ordinance with his intimidating words.

Fan said he had received calls from police on Thursday inviting him to record a statement next Monday.

The row began last Saturday when Ho made the remarks on stage at a gathering calling for the sacking of academic Benny Tai Yiu-ting from the University of Hong Kong. Protesters targeted Tai over his role as one of the leaders in the 2014 Occupy movement.

Sorry shouldn’t be the hardest word for Junius Ho

Joining the chorus of criticism against Ho, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Executive Council member Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee called his remarks “unhealthy” and “stupid”.
Ho later denied he had tried to incite any sort of violence and wrote ‘Ha ha ha, call the police, idiots’ in a Facebook post on Tuesday, after 22 pan-democrats issued a joint statement reprimanding him.

Ho also asked police to investigate cyberbullying against him, as an internet user had posted a photo of the lawmaker’s family and threatened to kill them.

Police told Ho an investigation was under way on that case.

A pro-Beijing group backed Ho and staged a rally urging police to act over the cyberbullying incident.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Police say Junius Ho will be investigated ‘fairly’
Post