PJ responds to critics about investigation on Costa Nunes case

The PJ showed a children’s questioning room

The Judiciary Police (PJ) responded to critics yesterday afternoon, during a press conference, over the investigation methods employed during the ongoing investigation of sexual abuse allegedly committed by a staff member against several children at D. Jose da Costa Nunes Kindergarten.

Duriang a press conference held earlier by lawmaker Agnes Lam and parents of reportedly abused children, the PJ was criticized for the staff’s lack of knowledge in questioning children regarding this matter, as too many repetitive questions were posed to the children. “All the investigation inspectors [involved in the mentioned case] have received training, in both Hong Kong and Macau, to deal with such cases, namely with cases involving domestic violence and sexual abuse,” the sub-inspector Leong Kuok Hei said. Leong added that, “during the process, children to be questioned can by accompanied by one or two people they trust.”

While accompanying the media into the questioning facilities, Leong noted, “children can stay here for 30 minutes to one hour prior to questioning. During that period, they can play and relax and our inspectors will also use that time to assess their language and thinking capabilities [to reply to the questioning].”

Leong also noted that the designated room and pre questioning procedure is normally used with children under the age of 11 years, but the main leading factor is the “capability of reading and reviewing their own testimonies.”

The questioning room and procedure was acknowledged by Leong to have become operative during 2016 after the enactment of the Domestic Violence Law, which established such rules and procedures.

Regarding the case, the PJ spokesperson added, “for the time being, we have seven cases reported of children of the same group,” she said, adding, “four of them already came to the PJ to give their testimony, and as for the other three, only the parents have spoken to the police.”

It was also added that, when receiving a report, the PJ will put the alleged victims directly in contact with the investigators taking care of the case, avoiding the inconvenience of giving testimony upon arrival at the complaint service and again to the inspectors chosen to run the case.

Replying specifically to the criticism that the police ask the same questions too many times, the PJ spokesperson said, “we try not to repeat the same questions many times but there are some matters that need to be clarified.”

Resident scammed over attempt to hire a prostitute

A local 24-year-old male was scammed and lost around HKD33,000 over an attempt to hire a prostitute via the Internet mobile application WeChat.

The incident occurred on May 10 when the man claimed to have been contacted by a woman offering to provide sexual services. Two days later, they arranged a meeting in town but at the arranged time, the man received a phone call from another man asking him to provide payment in advance through point card’s “My Card.”

He accepted and went to the closest convenience shop to acquire these cards, sending the codes to the person who contacted him by photographing the cards.

This process was repeated for over two hours until the man realized that he had been scammed and reported the case to the Judiciary Police (PJ). He is said to have lost a total of HKD32,762.

In a separate case, the same police force reported that a local resident (84) died after falling from the 12th floor from his apartment building located at Estrada Marginal do Hipodromo.

According to the report, the case occurred around 8 p.m. on May 12 after the family had dinner.

While the woman was cleaning the kitchen, the man allegedly fell through one of the windows of the house under conditions that are as yet, unexplained. According to the PJ spokesperson, it was the police who warned the wife about her husband’s death as she had not noticed that he was not in the house.

The case is still under investigation to determine the sequence of events that led to the man’s death.  RM