Cleared Councillor Aims Private Prosecution Of Cops

A district councillor, who was cleared of assaulting the police, has launched a crowdfunding drive for a private prosecution against two officers who used "inappropriate force" against her during last year's anti-government protests.

Jocelyn Chau and her assistant Lao Chak-kin were acquitted of assaulting police earlier this month. They were arrested and accused of shoving an officer in the chest while live-streaming video of a police operation in North Point amid high tensions in the district last August.

In a post on her Facebook page, Chau said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) haven't taken any action against the officers even though a magistrate earlier this month that there was no evidence to suggest that Chau and Lao had assaulted police.

The magistrate also said he suspected the officers had used inappropriate force on the defendants.

Chau, who was a community organiser at the time of the incident, wrote on her Facebook page that after seeking legal advice, she has decided to file a private prosecution against the police officer, and has also launched a crowdfunding drive for HK$1.1 million to cover the legal expenses.

In the ruling made earlier this month, the court had criticised the two officers, who the magistrate said lies after lies and that their testimony did not match what happened in video clips of the incident submitted to the court.

Magistrate Stanley Ho had said the witness statements from the two officers were unreasonable, illogical and self-contradictory.

Chau's move comes against the backdrop of the justice secretary stopping two private prosecutions linked to the anti-government protests last year, leading to criticisms that the independence of Hong Kong judiciary is being undermined.

Prosecutors had told the court there was insufficient evidence to proceed, and that the secretary for justice believed there was no reasonable prospect of conviction and no case to answer.

One case involved a traffic police officer who shot a student protester in Sai Wan Ho in November and the other was against a taxi driver who allegedly rammed protesters with his vehicle in Sham Shui Po last October. Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui had initiated both cases.