Hong Kong’s ‘Long Hair’ lawmaker goes to court over jailhouse cut
Lawyer for 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung argues that it is wrong to force a male to have hair cut, whereas women can keep their locks
Radical lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, who was forced to have his signature locks shorn while in jail last year, challenged the hair-length policy in the Court of First Instance yesterday, saying it amounted to discrimination as it only applied to male inmates.
Barrister Hectar Pun Hei, representing Leung, said the Correctional Services Department had based the rule on unfair stereotypes: that men were less hygienic and more prone to violence than women.
"How can you tell Leung is dirtier, more violent and has a higher chance to commit suicide?" Pun asked. "It is crystal clear that Leung was treated less favourably as female prisoners are able to keep their hair and Leung was not. This is a case of discrimination," Pun said.
The League of Social Democrats chairman was convicted in March 2012 of two counts of criminal damage and two of disorderly behaviour during a public forum at the Science Museum in 2011. He lost his appeal and spent four weeks in jail.
His lawyers tried without success to save his hair by submitting papers to prevent officers at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre from taking the action that night. Leung filed his application after he was released.
Pun argued yesterday that ensuring that male inmates had short hair was not the only way to achieve health and cleanliness. He also found the authority did not consider individual cases and that having a regulation which applied to all males was unreasonable.
"Any treatment which differs based on sex is unjustified," Pun said.
