******************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Commission of Inquiry on Allegations relating to The Hong Kong Institute of Education:
The Commission of Inquiry on Allegations relating to The Hong Kong Institute of Education will begin its public hearing tomorrow (March 29) to hear testimony from witnesses.
While understanding the need for the media to cover matters of importance to the public, the commission wishes to reiterate that there should be no publication that might prejudice the fair hearing of the inquiry proceedings to be conducted by the Commission of Inquiry.
The sub judice rule, which applies to such inquiry proceedings, is that there should not be publication that will likely prejudice the fair determination of legal proceedings, such as publicly commenting on whether a witness is credible or not, or whether a certain person or organisation is or should be responsible for a subject matter of the proceedings, in other words, prejudging the merits or issues.
Moreover, no publication should be made to deter any witness from giving evidence or to influence the evidence that he may give.
The public hearing will be conducted on March 29, 30, April 4, 10, 11, 12 and on Mondays to Fridays starting from April 16 (except April 18 and 23) until the conclusion of the hearing. The hearing time each day will be from 10am to 1pm with a break at about 11.30am, and from 2.30pm to 4.30 pm without any break.
The hearing will be held at the hearing room on the 38th floor, Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai.
Ends/Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:35
NNNN
