Lawyer Farce Delays Court Photos Hearing

A High Court judge on Friday told a mainland woman suspected of taking photographs during a hearing to find herself proper legal advice, after she brought along a lawyer she had just collared in a lift.

Prominent barrister Kevin Egan told the court he was not representing Tang Lin-ling, and he had only offered her some advice "out of sympathy" when she asked in the lift whether anyone present was a lawyer.

On Wednesday, Justice Andrew Chan ordered Tang's phone to be confiscated after she allegedly took photographs with it from the public gallery during a hearing relating to the clearance of the Mong Kok Occupy protest site in 2014.

He ordered her to return to court later in the day or he would issue a warrant for her arrest. She did return but did not give clear answers over the photo-taking and the matter was adjourned until Friday.

During the latest hearing over the incident, Tang repeated a claim that court staff didn't have an accurate understanding of court rules and regulations and she had not been given the right instructions on what she should or should not do in the courtroom.

The judge interrupted Tang and said it seems impossible to have a constructive or fruitful dialogue with her. He then adjourned the hearing until Friday afternoon, telling her to seek legal advice properly.

Unlawful photography in the city's courts hit the headlines recently after pictures taken of the jury in localist Edward Leung's riot trial were posted to the judiciary.

Earlier in the trial, a man claiming to be a mainland tourist was caught taking photographs of jurors. He was allowed to leave without court officials taking his details.