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Hong Kong police suspending alternative identification system after court rules complaints system ‘inadequate’
- A day after the ruling, the force would only officially say that it would study the judgment with the justice department
- But an internal notice seen by the Post indicates the force is suspending the alternative system, which had been flagged as problematic by the court
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The Hong Kong Police Force has moved to implement at least one facet of a recent court ruling that found officers’ failure to display identification during last year’s protests violated the city’s Bill of Rights, though it remained officially non-committal on how or whether it intended to comply with the rest.
A day after a Court of First Instance judge handed down one of the most significant rulings to arise from last year’s protests, lawyers were calling on the government to immediately set up an independent complaints mechanism to oversee the police in line with the court’s suggestion, even as a powerful officers’ union demanded the force appeal the decision.
Asked for comment on Friday, a police spokesman would only repeat the force’s line that it would study the judgment in conjunction with the Department of Justice.
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However, an internal notice seen by the Post indicated the force was suspending an alternative numbering system for identifying officers that the court had flagged as problematic.
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Hong Kong protests – China's Rebel City: Part 1 – Marching into the Unknown
Hong Kong protests – China's Rebel City: Part 1 – Marching into the Unknown
The notice informed officers they might again have to start showing their warrant cards upon request, subject to the nature of the operation, though it stopped short of addressing whether officers would be required to begin routinely wearing their identification numbers again.
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