Another Legal Challenge Filed Over Police ID Row

For a second time in as many days, legal action has been taken to require police officers to have their identification number displayed while on duty.

On Tuesday, retired civil servant Kwok Cheuk-kin and localist Sixtus Leung jointly applied for a judicial review at the High Court.

Kwok said the failure of some officers to show their ID during clashes with anti-extradition protests on June 12 raised suspicion that they were not members of the Hong Kong police force, but mainland law-enforcement officers or triad members.

The applicants want the court to order that all uniformed police show their ID numbers in future, and to declare that those who failed to do so on that day were not performing police duties.

Kwok said if the High Court doesn't deal with the case, they'll take the matter to the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

He's known as the "King of Judicial Reviews" for frequently launching legal challenges.

On Monday, a 73-year-old man applied for an injunction and a judicial review at the High Court, to try to prevent officers who don't display their ID number from performing their duties.

He said he was trying to take pictures of members of the special tactical squad in Admiralty on June 12, but was threatened by officers.

The man said he couldn't file a complaint because they did not have their ID number shown on their uniform.

The Secretary for Security, John Lee, said earlier that the police special tactical squad simply does not have enough room on their uniform to display their ID number.