Justice Chief Takes Swipe At Media Over Sentencing

The Secretary for Justice, Teresa Cheng, has accused some media - which she didn't name - of using biased language to describe the appeals or sentencing reviews her department has made.

She said last year, there were 12 sentencing review applications from the Department of Justice that had been decided, 11 of which went the DoJ's way.

"Some media, without regard to the grounds put forward by the DoJ at the hearings and the reasons for the decisions set out in the courts' judgements, used biased expressions that fail to reflect the facts in an objective manner," Cheng wrote on her blog on Saturday.

She said she disagrees with this approach, insisting that the DoJ has always strived to ensure proper prosecution conduct.

The minister said her department is duty bound to apply for a review or appeal in the event a sentence is manifestly inadequate or excessive.

Prosecutors have always adhered to the highest of professional standards in handling criminal cases, Cheng added, for justice to always be administered in an even-handed manner.

The Journalists Association said the secretary for justice’s general comments on the media were inappropriate and unfair.

The association’s chairman, Chris Yeung, noted that Cheng did not specify which reports she was referring to and how she found them biased.

“We worry that this is part of the campaign to smear the media,” said Yeung, warning that it could be a precursor for more restrictions and regulations on media reporting.

He pointed out that the common practice is for the government to write to media outlets asking them to clarify reports it finds misleading or confusing, or issue its own public statement.

“When it comes to how media outlets handle stories, the angle, use of language, words, say the story structure, etc, that’s a matter for media organisations, that shouldn’t be a matter for the secretary for justice to make such a general statement, “ he added.