Teresa Cheng Rebuffs Lawmakers' Bid For UGL Papers

Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng on Wednesday rejected calls from lawmakers to submit the documents related to the government's decision not to prosecute former Chief Executive CY Leung, saying it would subject Leung to a "trial by public opinion".

Councillors were debating a motion tabled by legal sector lawmaker Dennis Kwok urging the legal chief to present all the relevant papers to explain why the Department of Justice did not press charges over the HK$50 million that Leung accepted from Australian engineering firm, UGL, but did not disclose.

Cheng said if the motion was passed, it would interfere with the independence of the DOJ and damage the constitutional protection provided to the department under the Basic Law.

The government decision triggered controversy because unlike previous cases involving senior government officials, the DOJ did not seek independent legal advice before making the decision. Critics also said the explanation given for the decision was not comprehensive enough.

The opposition severely criticised Cheng, with Kwok accusing the justice secretary of “day-dreaming” for not seeking a second legal opinion.

"Are any of the [previous] six cases less sensitive than CY Leung’s case? … You say the case is not politically sensitive, but is it you that’s not politically sensitive enough?” Kwok asked.

“Everyone in Hong Kong says [CY Leung’s case] is a sensitive one, and you say it’s nothing special. Who will believe you?"

Kwok’s Civic Party colleague, Tanya Chan, criticised the DOJ for not disclosing which prosecutors were in charge of the case.

The convenor of the pro-democracy camp, Claudia Mo, said the decision was an "insult" to the intelligence of Hong Kong people.