Tanya Chan Accuses Justice Secretary Of Lying

Opposition lawmaker Tanya Chan accused Teresa Cheng of lying to lawmakers on Wednesday during the justice secretary's first appearance in Legco since the justice department decided to drop a case against former Chief Executive CY Leung.

During the session, Chan asked if the secretary had considered the question of bias, being as Cheng as chairwoman of the Transport Advisory Committee from 2004 to 2010 would have periodically reported to the Executive Council, which was then convened by Leung.

In her reply to Chan, the justice secretary said she couldn't recall the exact dates of her reporting to Exco.

The justice chief also said that after considering the legal definition of "bias", the department had determined that the case could be handled internally.

Talking to reporters later, Chan said of the justice secretary's answer: "This is absurd and this is just a lie."

"I really can't accept that our secretary for justice can lie in front of the council members as well as the public and this is a very serious matter," she said.

Earlier during the Legco session, Chan had offered Cheng her "congratulations" for being named as the most unpopular minister in a survey, saying the justice chief, in a year, had equalled the record of former education secretary Eddie Ng.