Prison authority rejects lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun’s bid to attend Legco meetings while serving jail sentence
- Authority does not have legal obligation to help Shiu perform legislative duties, sources say
- Shiu has been in custodial ward at Queen Elizabeth Hospital since April 25, after spending one night in jail
A Hong Kong lawmaker, sentenced to eight months in jail for leading a pro-democracy protest in 2014, has had his application to attend the Legislative Council’s general meetings rejected by the prison authority.
Solicitor Jonathan Man Ho-ching, who lodged the application last Monday on behalf of welfare sector legislator Shiu Ka-chun, said he received the rejection from the Correctional Services Department (CSD) around 4pm on Monday.
Two independent sources with knowledge of the matter said the rejection was based on three reasons, the same as those cited five years ago in a similar case that involved lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung.
“The CSD does not have any legal obligation to facilitate Shiu to perform his duty as a member of the Legislative Council. It does not believe the power and functions of the Legislative Council will be compromised without Shiu. And it has security concerns without any elaboration,” one of the sources said.
The other source said Shiu could make another application based on other reasons.