IPCC report on police conduct during Hong Kong protests expected by year’s end at earliest: Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung
- Matthew Cheung says police watchdog is the most suitable body to conduct a probe
- It will also look into the attack at Yuen Long MTR station in July
Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung insisted on a radio programme on Friday that the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) was the right body to conduct the investigation, despite repeated public demands for a wider commission of inquiry (COI).
“The IPCC would look into the whole saga, including July 21. They are doing [a] very good one at the moment, [in] full swing,” Cheung said, referring to the day when a mob of white-clad men attacked people with sticks and iron rods in Yuen Long station. Police were accused of arriving late at the scene, prompting some to suggest they had acted in collusion with the attackers, a charge officers had denied.
“[The IPCC] would come up with an initial report hopefully by the end of the year, or early next year,” he said.
But the setting up of an independent COI remained the demand of many people, including some listeners who called in during the radio programme, which was a phone-in session tied to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s policy address on Wednesday.