Officer’s fresh challenge set for January hearing
HK01 · 2 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
The High Court on Monday scheduled a combined hearing for January 27 next year in police officer Lam Wai-wing’s renewed judicial review bid over the death of taxi driver Chan Fai-wong. The matter will be handled by another bilingual judge because the case file includes more than 1,000 pages of Chinese transcripts and several bundles of documents.
Key Points
- Lam Wai-wing did not attend the hearing, and was represented by barrister Lee Wing-man; the respondent is the Hong Kong SAR Coroner’s Court.
- Lam’s legal team said six interested parties would need to be joined if leave and the substantive judicial review are heard together.
- Those proposed interested parties are Chan’s family, the Commissioner of Police, the Fire Services Department, the Hospital Authority, officer Ma Chun-hong and Sergeant Lo Wai-man.
- Senior counsel Winnie Wong Pui-kei is expected to represent Lam in the case, which the court said involves extensive Chinese-language records.
- Chan, a 65-year-old taxi driver, died after a 2012 arrest near the Western Harbour Crossing toll area, where he was allegedly put in a neck hold and suffered a cervical spine injury
Why It Matters
The January hearing will determine how Lam’s second attempt to challenge the coroner’s unlawful killing verdict proceeds, after the case had already been sent back once for a retrial. It also affects whether the latest inquest finding stands while Lam seeks to halt any prosecution steps by the Department of Justice