Hong Kong’s justice chief Teresa Cheng warns staff about endangering impartiality after prosecutor’s leaked email accusing police of lying

Hong Kong’s justice minister has warned prosecutors to be careful they do not compromise their impartiality when expressing personal views, after a staff representative accused police of lying about high-profile arrests of pro-democracy activists in a leaked internal email.

Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, however, did not respond to specific allegations that the force had lied, as William Wong Wa-fun, chairman of the Court Prosecutors (Department of Justice) Association, claimed.

But Wong’s remarks were criticised by his own colleagues, and at least two members of the association’s executive committee resigned.

Cheng said only that the entire Department of Justice would continue to ensure people got a fair trial under the principles of the Prosecution Code, a set of statements and instructions to guide prosecutors.

“As a professional team, in discharging our constitutional duty in prosecution work, we must not allow our independence and impartiality to be compromised or seen to be compromised when personal views are expressed,” Cheng wrote on Monday evening in an internal response to Wong’s email obtained by the Post.