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#Court #CoronerInquest #AlexChow
Coroner Unearthes Evidence Missed Out by the Police, Casting Doubt on the Arrival and Departure Time of the Ambulance

In November 2019, 22-year-old #HKUST student Alex Chow Tsz-lok fell from the parking lot of Sheung Tak Estate during protests in Tseung Kwan O. He died four days later due to critical brain damage.

The death inquiries have stepped into the 15th day on December 4, 2020. The footage from the ground CCTV No.2 of Kwong Ming Court in Kwong Sun House played by the Court showed a black shadow descending from the parking lot at 12:51:37 in the morning.

Coroner Ko Wai-hung said the black shadow appeared to be Chow, but there was a time difference in the footage. Ko then ordered the police to search for evidence in nearby housing estates and buildings and called on the management property and the owners' corporation to offer assistance as much as possible.

Chow's mother cried bitterly after watching the clip. The video has existed for a long time, and it has been reviewed by the police before.

Coroner Ko said that there was another video showing the arrival and departure time of the ambulance A344 which took Chow to the hospital, and the time was not consistent with the testimony given by the ambulanceman.

Therefore, Ko has listed Fire Services Department as an interested party and has written to the director of Fire Services.

Ko said in order to adjust the time difference in the clip, and to allow police to investigate further, the proceedings would be adjourned to next Tuesday.

Ko also warned before showing the clip, "the content of the clip will be disturbing, family members and the jury must be psychologically prepared."

The police said earlier that the surveillance camera footage of Kwong Ming Court could not capture the parking lot situation, but Ko looked through the clips again for caution and found there were "crucial clips" that would influence the testimonies of the expert witnesses.

He added, "I could only tell the parents of Tze-lok that the video is very important." In order to ensure the investigation was sufficient and complete, he revisited the evidence during the lunch break yesterday, "only by doing this I can be reassured and carry on the proceedings".

However, the police detective Wei Koon-kit who was responsible for reviewing the security footage testified earlier he had obtained and watched all CCTV clips outside Kwong Ming Court.

The lawyer representing the family asked, "is there any footage that captured what was happening outside the parking lot?", Wei answered no, and said, "we would also like to have these footages for investigating this case, but the problem is the focus of the camera cannot capture the parking lot!"

Source: InMedia #Dec4
https://bit.ly/3lyhEZy
#Censorship #Freespeech
#University in HK to Tighten Control of the Opinion Expression: Posts on #DemocracyWall Requires Real Name and Restricts Content

In the universities in Hong Kong, the "Democracy Wall", a free posting notice board on campus, has been a symbol of free speech.

After the forceful enactment of National Security Law (#NSL) in Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK) has pressured the Students Union for several times about the setting up of the pro-democracy #LennonWall.

Recently, the Student Union committee members received an email from the Staff-Student Central Management Committee about an online meeting to be held on Dec 8, 2020, which will discuss "new rules" for the Democracy Wall. The new rules proposed by the university include real-name posting and content which cannot "go against the facts".

The students union acting president Au Cheuk-hei said that the university intended to tighten the freedom of speech inside the campus.

Source: Apple Daily #Dec4
#Court #LegalTerrorism
Barrister Worries National Security Law’s Imprisonment Before conviction: ‘To be released on bail is basic human rights’

The Hong Kong judicial system has been adhering to the principle of presumption of innocence, in which a defendant is innocent before conviction and should not be imprisoned unless there is sufficient reason to do so.

However, Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, who was charged by the police for fraud, as well as several defendants in cases related to the National Security Law were all denied bail by appointed judges and are imprisoned without trial.

A barrister worried that if the defendants whom the prosecution alleges are involved in a national security case will be denied bail, citizens will question whether the court has been reduced to merely symbolic.

Human rights organizations have also been heavily criticizing that these imprisonment before conviction are a serious violation of human rights.

The National Security appointed judge, Chief Magistrate Victor So denied Jimmy Lai’s application for bail. Lai will be remanded in custody until April 2021, which means he will be imprisoned for at least 4 months.

The senior officers of Next Digital, Chow Tat Kuen and Wong Wai Keung who were also charged with fraud were granted bail.

Source: Apple Daily #Dec4
https://hk.appledaily.com/local/20201204/B34MREBSERBMDJE7FMX42JAAWM/

#NationalSecurityLaw #FreeJimmy #JimmyLai #Judge #Injustice #Bail