Joshua Wong Loses Case Over Prison 'humiliation'

Demosisto leader Joshua Wong has lost a lawsuit against the prison service over his claim to have been humiliated by guards when he was jailed in 2017 in connection with the Occupy protests three years earlier.

The activist claimed he had been ordered to squat down while naked as officers at the Tung Tau Correctional Institution fired questions at him for several minutes.

Wong was seeking HK$16,000 at the Small Claims Tribunal in compensation.

But deputy adjudicator Percy Yue dismissed the claim, saying Wong's testimony was inconsistent and his allegations were not backed up with detail.

For example, she said, Wong had provided conflicting accounts as to how many times he had to squat.

The deputy adjudicator said it was "unbelievable" that Wong couldn't recall what extra questions he said he was asked, and he seemed to pick and choose what he wanted to remember.

Yu said she didn't think the prison officers' line of questioning was malicious.

She also rejected Wong's claim that prison guards had conspired to present the same account of what happened, saying they were all very experienced and familiar with the procedures for searching prisoners.

The department had told the tribunal that Wong had been strip-searched, but that he had been allowed to get dressed again before he was interrogated.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Wong said this was the outcome he had expected and he plans to file an appeal.