Advertisement
Only a fraction of complaints against Hong Kong police substantiated, watchdog body says
- About a third of the allegations against officers were not fully investigated after being deemed non-pursuable
- Substantiated allegations led to the force issuing 53 officers advice, warning 25 others and conducting disciplinary reviews of two more
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
9
Less than 10 per cent of about 800 allegations against Hong Kong police officers were substantiated over the past year, after many complaints were withdrawn, resolved informally or could not be pursued, according to the force’s watchdog.
The Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) also revealed on Tuesday that the substantiated allegations had led to the force taking action against 80 officers, with 53 given advice, 25 handed warnings and two facing disciplinary review.
The force’s internal Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) submitted reports on 1,478 complaints to the IPCC for vetting between April last year and this March – about 3 per cent less than the previous 12 months, despite what officials acknowledged was a torrent of complaints stemming from 2019’s anti-government protests.
The complaints contained 2,209 allegations, of which 86 per cent involved accusations of neglect of duty, misconduct or improper manner.
But a full investigation was deemed unnecessary for nearly two-thirds of the allegations after 202 were informally resolved, 462 withdrawn and 748 deemed non-pursuable for reasons such as the complainants being unreachable.
Advertisement