Chief Inspector Wong Cho-shing arrives at the High Court on December 15, 2017. Photo: Nora Tam
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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3034620/hong-kong-court-refuses-endorse-final-appeal-five Law and Crime
Hong Kong court refuses to endorse final appeal by five police officers jailed for assaulting pro-democracy activist during 2014 Occupy protests
- Court of Appeal declines to issue appeal certificate for officers seeking last chance to clear their names in court
- But officers have already applied directly to Court of Final Appeals over conviction for beating activist Ken Tsang
(L to R) Wong Cho-Shing, Lau Cheuk-ngai, Wong Wai-ho, Pak Wing-bun and Lau Hing-pui arrive at the High Court on July 26. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
An appeal court has refused to endorse the last attempt of five police officers jailed for assaulting a pro-democracy activist during the 2014 Occupy protests to clear their names at the top court.
The Court of Appeal on Friday declined to issue an appeal certificate for the officers – chief inspector Wong Cho-Shing, 52, senior inspector Lau Cheuk-ngai, 33, detective sergeant Pak Wing-bun, 46, and detective constables Chan Siu-tan, 35, and Kwan Ka-ho, 35 – which would have facilitated an appearance before the Court of Final Appeal.
Even without the court’s blessing, the five officers, who were jailed for assaulting activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu, could still apply for permission for one last chance directly from the top court.
In fact, the group’s lawyers revealed on Friday that an application had already been filed to the Court of Final Appeal – but a hearing date had not been scheduled.
The five officers are part of a group of seven who stood trial in 2016 and 2017 after being charged with assaulting Tsang. The activist said he was beaten up after his arrest in Admiralty, where he had been taking part in 79-day civil disobedience campaign.
The Occupy protesters took to the streets and blocked major thoroughfares to pressure the government to grant Hong Kong greater democracy.
Tsang testified that he was carried to an electricity substation away from the crowd, where he said the officers kicked, punched and beat him with batons.
All seven were found guilty at the District Court and were jailed for two years. After an appeal, constable Lau Hing-Pui, 42, and detective constable Wong Wai-ho, 40, were acquitted.
The remaining five were sent back to jail but their term were reduced to between 15 and 18 months.
Heavy media scrutiny at the time forced prosecutors to rely substantially on news footage and other material to build their case. The prosecutors’ methods were intensely challenged by lawyers representing the officers during their appeal.
After losing the appeal, lawyers representing the five officers wrote to the Court of Appeal and said there were arguments about the use of video evidence that still needed to be resolved. They asked the Court of Appeal to grant the certificate to allow the remaining arguments to be heard at the Court of Final Appeal.
But Andrew Macrae, vice-president of Court of Appeal, said the court had already dealt with some of the issues the lawyers had raised. He said the appeal court could only give its endorsement for arguments concerning the law, and some of the assertions the lawyers had proposed were instead centred on factual issues.
“The application is refused,” he told the five officers in the dock. An interpreter then translated the English judgment to the group, who wore suits without their usual matching ties.
Pak, Kwan and Chan are expected to be released as soon as December, according to their lawyers. Wong and Lau are expected to be freed as soon as March.