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Calls Grow for Police Accountability in Hong Kong

Cynthia Wan

   HONG KONG - A Hong Kong court ruling has strengthened calls to
   establish an independent mechanism for complaints against the police
   amid intense outcry at home and abroad over alleged arbitrary arrests
   and excessive police use of force.

   Once regarded as Asia's finest, the city's 30,000-strong police force
   has come under fire for actions during widespread anti-government
   protests that gripped Hong Kong last year. Tear gas, water cannons,
   pepper spray and batons were widely used by police to disperse
   unrelenting protesters.

   On Nov.29, the Court of First Instance ruled in favor of the Hong Kong
   Journalists Association, saying the existing system is inadequate for
   investigating complaints against the police violations of the city's
   Bill of Rights on torture and cruel treatment. Also, the failure by the
   police to require anti-riot officers to display their numbered badges
   in the protests violated the Bill of Rights, the court said.

   "If the government still respects the court, it should take the
   responsibility to rectify the problems," Eric Cheung Tat-ming,
   principal lecturer and director of clinical legal education at the
   University of Hong Kong said.

   "If the government loses its appeal case [in the Court of Appeal], it
   will have to take some time to come up with a new mechanism. If the
   officials ignore the judge's suggestions, it will be considered
   overturning the ruling," he said.

   Cheung reiterated calls for an independent body to process complaints
   and redress misconduct as well as any false accusations against police
   officers. Backers of the calls include pro-government legislators.

   "By doing so, the government can restore public confidence in the
   police," Cheung said. "By the same token, if the complaints against the
   police are invalid, it won't be fair to them that the system is
   inadequate."

   He added that the government will have to come up with ways to address
   the two main issues the judge has raised in the verdict -- the absence
   of independent oversight in the existing police complaint mechanism and
   police officers' failure to display their badges.

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