Police Called In Over New High Court Photo Breach

The High Court on Wednesday confiscated a woman's phone and ordered her not to leave the city in the next few days as police from the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau investigated whether she had taken photos during a hearing earlier in the day.

The alleged incident came just days after pictures of the jury in a localist's riot trial were emailed to the judiciary, prompting warnings from legal experts that the action could have amounted to perverting the course of justice.

The latest alleged photo-taking took place during a hearing relating to the clearance of the Mong Kok Occupy protest site in November 2014.

Judge Andrew Chan ordered the woman to return to court in the afternoon with a legal representative, warning that if she failed to do so, he would issue a warrant for her arrest.

The woman, who spoken in English and Mandarin, did return as instructed. She said she was not a permanent resident and was currently staying at the Shangri-La hotel.

The judge did not get a direct answer when he asked her if she had taken photos. He adjourned the matter until Friday, telling the woman to appear before him again on that day and not to leave Hong Kong before then.

The judge earlier said he didn't know who or what had been photographed in particular, but described it as a "major incident."

Last week, a High Court judge temporarily banned the public from a courtroom after photos taken during Edward Leung's riot trial were posted to the judiciary.

Earlier in the trial, a Mandarin-speaking man who claimed to be a tourist was caught taking photographs of the jury. Security staff let him go without taking his details.

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