Torture in Hong Kong prisons 'more common than official figures suggest'
Torture in Hong Kong prisons is more common than the official figures suggest, says a human rights NGO, which will submit its report at a UN Committee Against Torture meeting next month.
"The [Correctional Services Department] paints quite a rosy picture of the system," said Annie Lin of the Society for Community Organisation.
"Even if you look at the breakdown of the statistics, it says that many complaints are actually false, some are just made up."
Complaints against the department by people in custody hovered around 600 for the past six years, with about a fifth being assigned to the department's investigation unit for scrutiny. Only two cases were substantiated last year and in 2010 and 2009, while none were substantiated between 2011 and 2013.
"Prisons are really enclosed systems. It's really difficult to come out and complain," Lin said.
They said I was faking it. And then at least 10 … officers punched and kicked me for half an hour
Wong Ting-hin, 51, who served one year and eight months at Hei Ling Chau Correctional Institution after being convicted of burglary in late 2012, said he was once beaten by 10 prison officers when he sought medical help after fainting.
"They said I was faking it. And then at least 10 … officers punched and kicked me for half an hour," he said. "I was left partially deaf in one ear as a result."
Wong said that after he filed a report to police and complained to the department, prison officers threatened to "make life hell" for him.
"I feared that I would not leave prison alive, so I eventually withdrew my case."
After his release in August last year, Wong filed another report to police, but was told in the end that evidence had vanished due to the passage of time.
The department said yesterday that it had "effective" mechanisms in place to protect prisoners. It also said no complaint similar to Wong's was found in its records for the past three years.
The society will present its case at the UN convention in Geneva on November 16, one day before government representatives are scheduled to attend a hearing. The UN committee will publish its non-binding conclusions on December 9.
