Au’s ‘defamation’ to be handled according to the law

Au Kam San (right)

The Judiciary Police (PJ) will handle lawmaker Au Kam San’s alleged defamation case in light of the law, according to PJ spokesperson Chan Wun Man.

Recently, PJ accused the lawmaker of defamation based on Au’s interview with a local Chinese newspaper.

In the interview, Au accused the police of illegally intercepting a resident. However, the police responded to Au’s accusation by saying that “it was absolutely impossible to have illegally intercepted [the resident]”.

Last week, the police department sent a letter to the lawmaker, urging him to issue an open and acceptable apology within a period of ten days. Otherwise, the bureau would initiate criminal proceedings.

Last Friday, the lawmaker told the media that he would not apologize to the police, having deemed PJ’s action as “ridiculous”.

In Au’s opinion, since he was simply trying to express his concerns about the public, he does not see the need for an apology.

The lawmaker also commented regarding the incident, saying that the government is the party that ought to issue clarifications if it thinks the lawmaker’s doubts might have mislead the public.

Au further believes that the government should not initiate criminal proceedings and request an apology from a lawmaker simply because he or she brought up reservations.

The lawmaker thinks that this incident will have a chilling effect on society and will affect the public’s supervision over the government.

In reply to Au’s statements, the PJ believes that the nature of a comment on a bill is different from the nature of defaming the police.

“We will review the situation, and will handle it according to the relevant laws,” said Chan, when questioned about which law will be the PJ’s reference.