Judicial review challenges Hong Kong government’s decision to grant police HK$1 billion for working overtime during protests
- Former civil servant Kwok Cheuk-kin says the payment amounts to favourable treatment that violates provisions for equality under Basic Law
- He also accuses Financial Secretary Paul Chan of violating another Basic Law provision requiring the government to ‘follow the principle of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up its budget’
A former civil servant known for taking the Hong Kong government to court has filed the year’s first judicial review application, challenging the decision to grant police more than HK$1 billion for working overtime during the past six months of anti-government protests.
Kwok Cheuk-kin, also known as “the king of judicial reviews”, said the payment amounted to favourable treatment that violated provisions for equality under the city’s Basic Law, as other civil servants clocking extra hours were not similarly compensated.
He also accused Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po of violating a separate Basic Law provision requiring the government to “follow the principle of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up its budget” when he agreed to the grant despite the city’s fiscal shortfall.
The Security Bureau last month disclosed that the government had paid about 11,000 police officers overtime wages of up to HK$950 million (US$122 million) over the past six months.
A letter from the Civil Service Bureau to the Legislative Council further revealed that officers had received HK$235 million in meal and other allowances during the period.
Hong Kong has been embroiled in protests since June last year, triggered by an extradition bill that was withdrawn in September. The unrest, now into its seventh month, shows no signs of ending.