I hope the relevant authorities...make sure the law is enforced equally on everybody without regard to political backgrounds.

on senior government officials. However, both Mo and Zimmerman are also public office holders.

Mo is an experienced opposition lawmaker who is even more wellknown than Cheng. Zimmerman has been a councilor for a decade, who was also dabbled in the work of planning for land-use in the area, and took part in the LegCo by-election for the buildings and planning functional constituencies. If all people are equal before the law, why should a LegCo lawmaker and district councilor be exceptional?

People may say Cheng’s husband, Otto Poon Lok-to, is a prominent professional, who was the president of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. However, Philip Bowring, Mo’s husband, is the former chief editor of Far Eastern Economic Review and editor for the Asia Sentinel News, and a veteran columnist for South China Morning Post, writing for more than 20 years. Bowring is as influential as Mo in the media industry. Meanwhile, Zimmerman’s wife is said to be a senior government planner.

With comparable political and social status, we have to ask why Cheng and her family were treated so differently? Why were the Buildings Department, Lands Department and other related government departments so tolerant of Mo and Zimmerman? I hope the relevant authorities can explain the above-mentioned different treatments and make sure the law is enforced equally on everybody without regard to political backgrounds.