Police Chief Defends Low NSL Prosecution Rate

Tang says of 97 national security law arrests, 8 are prosecuted

Hong Kong's police chief held a press conference today and noted that of the 97 people arrested on charges violating the national security law, eight have been prosecuted. 

Commissioner of Police Chris Tang Ping-keung said it took time to gather enough evidence to prosecute. The eight include Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, who was charged with fraud and colluding with foreign forces.

Most high profile NSL case is that of Jimmy Lai

"The law was only enacted around seven months ago," Tang said. "It is still very early to say the prosecution rate is low. There are a lot of cases that are still under active investigation."

The force's National Security Department has also frozen HK$65 million (US$8.38 million) in assets since the national security law was enacted last July.

Last month the force arrested 55 people in connection with the primaries that was held over two days in July. It was the biggest crackdown on pro-democracy activists and politicians. All of them except former Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai were released on bail without prosecution. They accused the police of using the law to spread "white terror" and suppress the opposition.

Tang disagreed, saying his officers acted on evidence in accordance with the law.

"This term has been abused by a lot of people when they were arrested. They made excuses by saying that this is white terror. As a matter of fact, we [acted] on evidence and on law to make arrests," Tang said. "People try to make this excuse to make themselves feel better, or maybe to try to get away with their criminal liabilities, or to fool the public."

Benny Tai was arrested for his role in primaries

Meanwhile it was reported that the national security hotline has received some 40,000 messages, though there was no elaboration on how many arrests were made as a result of the tip line.

The police commissioner also said the force had invested a lot of resources in a bid to improve its relationship with the public, saying the police had been a victim of constant smearing through the spread of fake news.

Wonder which playbook Tang got that idea from...

While he stressed the force attaches the utmost importance in the behaviour of its officers, 45 of them were arrested last year for various offences, up from 24 in 2019.