Junior British barrister to try Kwok brothers
High-flying counsel permitted to join prosecution team in city's biggest corruption case, after 34-strong defence team absorbs top local names
The High Court yesterday approved a rare request by the public prosecutions division for a junior British barrister to appear in a Hong Kong court - and take on the biggest corruption case in the city's history.
Luke Mably, a high-flying criminal counsel, will be the second London barrister to join the team prosecuting the Kwok brothers and former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan, who, together with two other defendants, have commissioned 34 barristers.
The chief High Court judge, Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, said the public interest required "the best team" to handle this "unprecedented" criminal prosecution of a "wholly extraordinary nature".
The prominent British Queen's Counsel David Perry will be leading the prosecution team. He recently led the prosecution of self-styled fung shui master Peter Chan Chun-chuen.
A Treasury Counsel in Britain since 2009, Mably was called to the bar in 1997 and specialises in white-collar crime. He regularly presents the case for the prosecution. Although he has not "taken silk" and become a QC, Treasury Counsel was just as prestigious, if not more so, said Cheung.
"The truth, as I see it, is that the criminal prosecution in question is a wholly exceptional one, which justifies the taking of exceptional measures," said Cheung.
"The public interest is served by ensuring that the prosecution is conducted by the best team available."
