Personal attacks on judges intolerable
The Law Society of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Bar Association issued a joint statement on Wednesday condemning personal attacks, and even threats, on a High Court judge and her family over a criminal case she presided over earlier this year. Such abuse was posted on social media by individuals unhappy about the sentences she gave three leaders of a radical group for unlawful behavior in the Mong Kok riot of 2016. The joint statement says — and we absolutely agree — that targeting judges with hateful language does not help anyone but may constitute contempt of court, which is an offense in itself. Hong Kong is a society under rule of law where one can disagree with a court decision but has no right to mount personal attacks on the presiding judges.
The High Court judge in this case was doing her job according to Hong Kong law and the three defendants were found guilty by a jury. Indeed, many Hong Kong residents voiced their support on social media regarding the sentences she gave the three defendants. Naturally some also criticized; there were those who posted hateful slurs and even threats aimed at her and her family members’ lives.
We are pleased to note that the vast majority of local residents are law-abiding citizens who would not tolerate unlawful behavior no matter what excuse the perpetrator may find. That is why so many people agree that the three defendants in this case were guilty as charged. They deserved the punishment they received for breaking Hong Kong law, because they all saw what happened in Mong Kok on the day following Lunar New Year in February 2016.
It is no surprise that those who support the violent “protest” that day somehow do not like the label “riot”, because they know the existing Public Order Ordinance was designed to deal with this kind of situation to begin with. And they are not the only ones who want that law out of the way. Chris Patten — the last British governor of Hong Kong — also complained about the judgment and sentences in question. He, however, has apparently forgotten that the Public Order Ordinance was enacted by the Legislative Council under the British Hong Kong government.
Court rulings are not perfect. It is up to the higher court, if there is one, to determine whether a particular decision by a lower court judge is appropriate. Members of the public have a right to voice their opinions about court decisions but not personal attacks against judges or their family members. Threatening judges, who are a symbol of the rule of law, is downright criminal in itself.