Hong Kong police chief says more Stand News arrests possible
- Raymond Siu also hit back at Western critics of the operation against the news portal, which saw reams of journalistic materials carted away, saying it was perfectly legal
- When asked if more arrests would be made, Siu said on Saturday: ‘I don’t rule out such a possibility’
Hong Kong’s police chief has said more arrests linked to Stand News are not out of the question, days after seven with ties to the now-defunct online outlet were hauled in over accusations of publishing seditious content.
Raymond Siu Chak-yee also hit back at Western critics of Wednesday’s operation, which saw reams of journalistic materials carted away, saying it was perfectly legal.
“All our law enforcement actions have been carried out in accordance with the law,” he said on the sidelines of a New Year’s Day event.
On Wednesday, national security police scooped up seven people who worked at, or were linked to, the online news portal, which gained popularity among opposition supporters during and after the 2019 anti-government protests.
Charges were brought against the editor-in-chief and his predecessor at West Kowloon Court, and both were denied bail in the past two days by a magistrate hand-picked by the city’s leader to hear national security cases.
When asked if more arrests would be made, Siu said on Saturday: “I don’t rule out such a possibility.”
Siu is the latest senior official to defend the police action, after justice minister Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
Western officials, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, raised concerns about the erosion of press freedom in the city following the arrests, but the local and central governments rejected the criticisms, maintaining journalists were not above the law.
Separately, a year-end video by the police force touted the city’s falling crime rate, and credited a lack of “black violence” – Beijing and the pro-establishment camp’s term for the unrest of the 2019 anti-government protests – with allowing officers to return to ordinary duties.
Hong Kong justice chief lashes out at critics of Stand News arrests
In the first 10 months of 2021, thefts were down 57 per cent, burglary 32 per cent, arson 37 per cent and assault 32 per cent, according to police.
Officers also caught their suspects in 68 and 28 per cent of burglaries and thefts, respectively, the highest rate in a decade.
However, the past year did see upticks in drug crime and fraud. Police recorded more than 15,000 fraud cases in the period, amounting to a rise of 21 per cent from the previous year. Almost 70 per cent of the cases were online, with many related to compensated dating, cyber-romance, investment fraud and job hunting.
From January to October 2021, police arrested more than 2,000 people and recovered HK$1.29 billion from fraud cases.
Drug-related cases rose to 1,287 in the same period, up 45 per cent from the previous year. Cases involving marijuana experienced the sharpest jump to 348, representing a 74 per cent increase.
