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Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, to a question on cases of politically exposed persons receiving intimidation letters by the Hon Tam Yiu-chung in the Legislative Council today (January 16):
Question:
Given that recently, politically exposed persons have successively received intimidation letters, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the number of relevant reports received by the Police in each of the past three years, the respective numbers of government officials and Members of the Legislative Council involved in these reports, and the number of cases detected; and
(b) the measures to expedite the detection of such cases in order to uphold the rule of law?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) According to information held by the Police, the Police did not receive any reports of government officials having received intimidation letters in the past three years. The number of cases involving Members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and the number of cases detected are as follows:
2005 2006 2007
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Number of reports 0 4 19
Number of cases detected 0 2 7
A total of 22 LegCo Members were involved in the above cases.
The Police are very concerned about cases of politically exposed persons receiving intimidation letters. Regarding the increase in the number of cases in 2007 as compared with previous years, the Police do not rule out the possibility that with several major electoral activities held during the year, certain individuals might have reacted too radically to electoral matters.
(b) Hong Kong is a society under the rule of law. The law and order situation in the territory has been stable. The Police are, as always, committed to maintaining law and order in the community and protecting the personal safety of all members of the public (including politically exposed persons). The Police will not tolerate any act of intimidation committed by any person against others.
Generally speaking, the Police will designate cases of this nature to a dedicated and experienced investigation team for follow up. This enables investigation officers to have a comprehensive idea of the facts and developments relating to cases of a similar nature, and to examine and analyse the evidence and information collected in respect of different cases more effectively. Such an arrangement adopted by the Police to pool experience and resources as well as the adoption of investigation practices that allow a comprehensive understanding of similar cases are conducive to the detection of such cases.
Of course, the most effective way to assist the Police is for the victims to report their cases and to provide information to the Police in the first instance. Any person who feels that his/her personal safety is being threatened should report to the Police as soon as possible so that the Police can conduct investigation at the earliest opportunity.
Ends/Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:31
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