Police Watchdog Says Complaints Being Processed

The head of the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) has rejected suggestions that officers haven't been held accountable since anti-government protests erupted a year ago.

The chief police superintendent on complaints, Tammy Mak, told a meeting of the IPCC that it had received 1,800 complaints related to the protests, 600 of which were reportable to the IPCC. The remaining two-thirds were classified as notifiable complaints.

Mak said that more than half of the notifiable cases were filed by seven people -- and she called them "regular complainants".

The head of the IPCC, Anthony Neoh, was asked if he was concerned that the police's description of the complainants meant their grievances would not be taken seriously, but said the police were reporting a fact.

"We'll need to look into this, of course, and see what comes out of this and we need further analysis," Neoh said.

The IPCC's Secretary General, Richard Yu, said the council would handle the cases -- regardless of the number of complaints lodged about each of them.

So far, no police officers have been prosecuted over the protests, despite claims of alleged brutality.

Neoh was asked about the United States, where some officers were charged not long after their cases came to light, and if he felt there was public perception that justice has been delayed.

"Of course, they should be held accountable - that's why we have a complaint system," Neoh said, adding that there were currently "at least 10-12 cases - civil actions - actually going on in the courts".

Yu said in about a third of around 240 complaints involving the police use of force, the cases had been delayed because the complainants were involved in legal proceedings.

He said the watchdog had substantiated two complaints against officers who were caught on camera swearing at the crowd during dispersal operations at the protests last year. The two were given an advice.