Hong Kong court rebukes ‘dishonest’ police officers over arrest of pregnant woman for obstruction
- Magistrate clears 44-year-old woman, who gave birth within days of bungled search, of obstructing a public officer following a trial
- One of the arresting officers called her ‘fatty’ and accused her of feigning pregnancy, trial heard
A Hong Kong woman was cleared on Friday of obstructing police during a search conducted seven months into her pregnancy, after a magistrate found that all the officers involved tried to hide the truth about the arrest.
Housewife Lau Siu-fan told the Kowloon City Court trial that she was manhandled and called a “damn fatty” when she challenged the decision to search her as part of a police operation targeting illegal immigrants.
The 44-year-old defendant, who gave birth prematurely just a few days after the search, was charged with obstructing a public officer after she was intercepted outside her To Kwa Wan flat in Wing Siu Street on January 20.
It was wrong to handcuff me ... I am really, very disappointed with police
Station Sergeant Lau Chi-fun, who led the police operation, said suspicions were aroused when the defendant avoided eye contact with officers as she walked past.
The pregnant woman, who was taking a stroll near her residence, was said to be deeply agitated about the search, with police saying she repeatedly refused requests to show her identity card and was “making a scene”.
The defendant testified she had produced her identity card on request but was told to stand to one side for further questioning.
She described getting into a row with Sergeant Lai Kam-yiu after refusing to wait next to another intercepted person who she knew had just completed quarantine.
Lai then called her a “damn fatty” and suggested she was feigning pregnancy, last month’s trial heard.
