Support pledged for jailed officers
People from various backgrounds in Hong Kong pledged their support to the seven police officers jailed for beating an activist during the illegal “Occupy Central” movement in 2014, vowing to help them and their families.
The officers were sent to three prisons — Stanley Prison, Tung Tau Correctional Institution and Tong Fuk Correctional Institution — on Tuesday after being detained in the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre.
Last Friday, they were sentenced to two year’s imprisonment after being found guilty of one joint count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm for hitting radical activist and former Civic Party member Ken Tsang Kin-chiu.
The Liberal Party will establish a fund dedicated to providing care for the seven police officers’ families, the party announced.
It is Hong Kong’s first political party to offer substantial aid to the policemen.
Speaking at its spring reception, Liberal Party leader Felix Chung Kwok-pan said the fund will try to help the police officers’ families cope with urgent problems.
The party hopes to raise at least HK$1 million. They will further discuss how to distribute the money to the families, Chung said. However, the money will not be used for any legal costs generated by a possible appeal.
Meanwhile, the city’s major police associations were among the first to respond. The Junior Police Officers Association voiced full support for their seven colleagues. It will hold a special meeting today (Wednesday) to finalize a plan on how to assist the seven officers and their families, its spokesperson told China Daily.
The city’s legal sector advised the policemen to take back justice through appeals. Senior Counsel Ronny Tong Ka-wah said the city’s appeal mechanism was still “functioning well” and a higher court could review the judgment. He believed public concern over the case would be allayed by Hong Kong’s legal system.
His view was echoed by barrister and legislator Priscilla Leung Mei-fun. She said the seven policemen had undoubtedly broken the law. However, the sentence could still be appealed, Leung explained.
She felt making an appeal was the most appropriate way to address the issue.
Leung hopes the judge could also consider the social backgrounds of the massive illegal movement — “Occupy Central” — as the police officers were humiliated and provoked by protesters.