Police Suggest Media Could Have Doxxed Reporter

The police on Friday suggested that fellow media workers could be responsible for doxxing a journalist who staged a protest at one of the force's press conferences.

Amy Ip stood up during the briefing on Monday and denounced the police for a series of violent attacks on media workers.

After she was ejected from the room, the police took a photo of her press pass and Ip claims this was later uploaded onto the internet, leading to her receiving threatening messages from strangers.

But at Friday's press conference, Chief Superintendent John Tse said other reporters present on Monday could also have taken photos of Ip's card.

"After that incident, with her verbal consent, our officers did take a photo of her HKJA press card. But at that time, many other reporters were around and I'm not sure whether they took photos of her press card as well," Tse said.

"So far, we have not received any reports from any reporters ... about leakage of personal details. But we welcome [those] who feel they are the victim of an unlawful leakage to come forward and make a police report and we will investigate fairly and seriously."

Tse said that in August a reporter from mainland state media was surrounded and questioned by other journalists at a police press conference and they had taken photos of her press card.

In fact, the reporter had refused to show journalists anything but a business card.

Tse also accused Ip, who is a freelancer, of tricking her way into Monday's briefing.

"She claimed to come from a foreign media company. But later, the senior management of that foreign media company visited us and confirmed that she was not an employee of the company. The freelancer did not come to the press conference on behalf of that company on that day either," Tse said.

"This showed that she did indeed misrepresent herself to deceive our officers into allowing her to enter this press conference room. Such behaviour is certainly irresponsible and dishonest. It is also unfair for other professional media."

Some journalists had joined Ip's protest on Monday as a show of support, while others have since debated whether they should have walked out with her in solidarity over the police's abuse of frontline reporters.