Police Too Must Mind Their Words, Warns Govt

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Joshua Law, told legislators on Wednesday that recent reminders to civil servants that they have to discharge their duties impartially also apply to the police, as he was questioned about derogatory remarks made by officers against senior officials.

After Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung apologised for the police's handling of the Yuen Long attack on July 21, the Junior Police Officers' Association (JPOA) issued a statement accusing him of being unfit for office and suggesting he step down.

Last month, a police sergeant also allegedly wrote a post on social media criticising Chief Executive Carrie Lam for holding dialogue with demonstrators.

The Democratic Party asked Law whether the officers involved had breached the Civil Service Code and Police General Orders.

In response, the secretary said he couldn't talk about individual cases, but the police's internal complaints unit is investigating 15 reports regarding social media posts by officers.

He did reveal that a complaint was made regarding the JPOA's remarks about the chief secretary, and said the force is investigating this. But no complaint was received over the comment about the CE, he said.

Law said the administration issued a statement on August 1 reminding civil servants that their personal beliefs cannot be allowed to affect the operations of the government as this could undermine public confidence in them discharging their duties impartially.

"In fact, the concerned principles apply to all civil servants, including police officers," he said.

He added that police officers also need to comply with the Police General Orders by abstaining from any activity which gives the public the impression that they are unable to carry out their duties impartially.

But Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said the government is adopting double standards when it comes to handling complaints about comments made by police, compared to other civil servants who end up being investigated.

"They turned a blind eye to those police representatives who strongly criticised the senior government officials...without taking any disciplinary action against them," Lam said.