Court Upends Decision On Longhair's Haircut Case

The government on Monday won an appeal against a court ruling that had declared it was discriminatory to make male prisoners have their hair cut short.

Former legislator Leung Kwok-hung, known as Longhair, had turned to the courts after his hair was cropped in 2011 while he was serving a four-week jail term for behaving in a disorderly manner at a protest.

Last year, the High Court ruled that men were being treated in a discriminatory manner, as the haircut rule applies only to male prisoners but not females. On Monday, the Court of Appeal reversed this decision.

It said the haircut requirement is based on the conventional hairstyles of males and females in Hong Kong and explained that the rule is part of a package of requirements to foster custodial discipline, by bringing uniformity and conformity among inmates.

The appeal court said the lower court judge had made a mistake by not considering the restrictions on appearance as a whole for inmates and not paying regard to conventional appearance standards.

"Though some people might regard the conventional standards of appearance as a kind of stereotyping or a form of hidden direct sex discrimination, it is an objective fact that these conventional standards exist and they are observed by most people in our society," the three-judge panel said in its judgement.

"Whilst it is right that we should not continue with past discriminatory practices, it remains a fact of life that men and women have different physical attributes which, together with traditions and customs, mandate different conventional standards of appearance for men and women in a society."

The judgement gives different swimsuits for men and women as an example, saying "the maintenance of such differences cannot by any stretch of imagination be regarded as discriminatory on the ground of stereotyping".

Leung was ordered to pay the legal costs incurred by the Commissioner of Correctional Services.

Speaking outside the court, the disqualified lawmaker said he was surprised by the ruling and would take his case to the Court of Final Appeal, if he is able to secure legal aid.

"I think hair is part of our gift from God, or from our parents. I don't think anyone should touch our hair without a considerable legal basis," Leung said.