More details emerge of assault cases against Occupy activist Ken Tsang and 7 Hong Kong officers accused of beating him
Occupy protester accused of assaulting and resisting police, while officers who allegedly attacked him charged with grievous bodily harm
Seven police officers accused of beating up an Occupy activist 12 months ago were yesterday formally charged over the alleged attack in a day of unprecedented legal drama that saw their accuser also charged just hours later.
But Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung rejected accusations the decision to charge activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu on the same day as the men suspected of attacking him was an attempt to divert public attention, insisting it was made in the interests of "fairness" to both parties.
All eight men have been released on bail and are due to appear before Eastern Court on Monday.
Yesterday morning, on the first anniversary of the alleged attack on Tsang, 40, in Admiralty, seven officers - Chief Inspector Wong Cho-sing of the specialist Organised Crime and Triad Bureau; Senior Inspector Lau Cheuk-ngai, Sergeant Pak Wing-bun and constables Lau Hing-pui and Wong Wai-ho of Kwun Tong district; constable Kwan Ka-ho of Kowloon City district; and Chan Siu-tan, a constable from Kowloon East district crime unit - were jointly charged with wounding or striking with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Chan also faces a charge of common assault on Tsang in an interview room at Central Police Station. The officers are aged between 29 and 48.
Hours later Tsang was also hit with a charge of assaulting police and four charges of resisting officers who tried to arrest him after an incident at Lung Wo Road, Admiralty, in the early hours of October 15 last year. Tsang's alleged police victims are not the officers who face charges of attacking him.
While on the face of it, both Tsang and the seven officers are accused of assault the main charge against the officers is far more severe and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Prosecutors will ask to transfer the case against them to the District Court.
Tsang's case will be heard in the magistrates' courts and his assault charge carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
Yuen said the alleged offences all happened in a very short time span, so both cases should be handled simultaneously.
"The whole point, if I may emphasise, is to ensure procedural fairness between Tsang on the one hand, and the seven police officers on the other," Yuen said.
Yuen said the arrangement under which both Tsang and the seven would appear before Eastern Court on Monday would allow both parties to express their views to the court should there be any concern.
Asked why the Department of Justice had decided to apply for the case against the officers to be transferred to the District Court, Yuen said his department considered various factors, including the appropriate sentence upon conviction and the circumstances of the case.
The District Court can hand out a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, though the charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent carries a longer maximum term.
Arriving at Central Police Station for "arrest by appointment" yesterday at 4.30pm, Tsang complained he was given insufficient notice after receiving a call from police at 8.18am.
The seven officers reported back to police yesterday morning after spending almost a year suspended from duties though still receiving full salary.
University of Hong Kong law scholar Eric Cheung Tat-ming said the Court of Appeal in the past handed out prison terms ranging from three to 12 years for those convicted of the charge of shooting or attempting to shoot, or wounding or striking with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
To convict anyone of the offence in question, prosecutors "would need to prove they had intent and that [their actions] resulted in bodily harm that amounts to a grievous, or in layman's terms 'really serious' level," Cheung said.
