Hong Kong slams fugitive Ted Hui for criticising HK$800,000 asset seizure
Former lawmaker calls court order ‘absurd’ and ‘violation of human rights’, as government says assets not confiscated arbitrarily
Hong Kong authorities have condemned “the unfounded smear and malicious attacks online” by fugitive former lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung after he hit back at a court order that allowed the government to confiscate HK$800,000 (US$102,800) of his and his family’s assets.
A Hong Kong court on Monday ordered the confiscation of proceeds Hui obtained from “committing offences endangering national security”, with the ex-legislator calling the act “absurd” and a “violation of human rights” on his social media account.
The Department of Justice had applied for the order, saying Hui had transferred nearly HK$2.5 million to his mother and wife. Hui later said in a social media post that the court had ordered HK$800,000 to be confiscated.
“It is a common and effective practice to make an application to the court for a confiscation order to prevent offenders from benefiting from their criminal acts,” a government spokesman said on Monday night, adding that Hui had committed “numerous heinous crimes”.
The spokesman stressed the application for and issuance of the confiscation order had to comply with regulations and that the court “must also ascertain the value of the proceeds of the offence endangering national security and the amount that might be realised at the time the confiscation order is made”.
“Therefore, there is absolutely no situation in which private property could be ‘confiscated at any time’ or ‘arbitrarily’,” he added.
