Advocacy to breach law wrong: Top prosecutor
Kevin Zervos, the outgoing director of public prosecutions, said it is not right to advocate a breach of the law and that the socalled “civil disobedience” mapped out in the “Occupy Central” campaign is not justifi ed as there is no unjust law to break.
Zervos, set to retire in 10 days, met the press for the last time on Thursday and shared his thoughts on the “expression of individual rights”: “If you want your rights to be respected, you’ve got to respect the rights of others.”
The counsel from Australia, officially described as a specialist in human rights who holds a master’s degree in human rights’ laws, said “Occupy” is different from the “civil disobedience” endorsed by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
While the great leaders had pushed for disobedience of unjust laws — such as one separating black and white bus passengers, Zervos said, local laws on public assemblies are not unjust as they ensure the protection of safety and welfare of the community.
Zervos, who said he will “stand up for” the community of Hong Kong, urged people desperate to make their voices heard to take others into account. “I don’t believe anyone would want to see Hong Kong ruined or lose its magic,” he said.
He said he believes in the law and that the city boasts a first-class legal system, underpinned by the right institutions, to ensure justice is dispensed at all time. “It is not right to advocate a breach of law,” he said. “You can demonstrate, but according to the laws.”
It is a prosecutor’s obligation to uphold the laws, he said, and thus it was unfounded and not true that his team has pursued “political prosecution”
I don’t prosecute in the name of the government and the law enforcement. I prosecute in the name of the community.”
KEVIN ZERVOS DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
against protesters.
Regular faces in demonstration-related trials, he explained, have kept “seriously” crossing the line. “They’ve engaged in conduct that they shouldn’t and they keep pushing it. That’s why these people keep coming to court,” he said.
A responsible advocate for human rights, he said, should have publicly corrected the misguided criticism, but he said it was “upsetting” for him that has not been the case.
A certain degree of leeway, nonetheless, is allowed as people might simply be “carried away emotionally” in demonstrations, he admitted. Most protesters arrested at a rally in July 2011, for example, received warning letters and only a few headed for the court.
Melody Chan Yuk-fung was one of those who almost faced a trial — she was bound over last month for a period of 12 months. Zervos said a bind over was not a let-off — the consideration was whether a conviction would disproportionately derail one’s promising career.
A “highlight” of Zervos’ tenure has been some high-profile graft cases, including one involving former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen. He said the probe, which has necessitated overseas inquiries, is still underway.
He said that once a case is being investigated by a law-enforcement agency, one should not “exploit it politically” because it may damage the reputation of the subject of the probe and leave an adverse impact on the case.
But he also stressed no matter how a case was brought to the attention of the public — even through political maneuvering — the law enforcement should not be distracted from the fact that the matter still has to be addressed.
The outgoing prosecutor, who held an unusual press briefing earlier this month to explain reasons for not prosecuting former executive councillor Franklin Lam Fankeung, placed emphasis on accountability and transparency in the work of the prosecution.
“I don’t prosecute in the name of the government and the law enforcement. I prosecute in the name of the community,” he said. The people make the organization, he added.
Senior barrister Keith Yeung Karhung, an outsider, will take over Zervos’ office from Sept 9.
Zervos assured he will not make “silly comments” on cases once he retires, as he queried, “what do you know about the cases?”