A Hong Kong court has ordered the city’s rail giant to preserve security footage of a controversial police operation last month until it rules on whether the clips can be released to a student leader planning to sue officers.
The High Court on Thursday granted an interlocutory injunction to Education University student union president Kex Leung Yiu-ting for the MTR Corporation to preserve the footage he sought.
The case centred on an incident on August 31 at Prince Edward MTR station, in which police went after protesters and were later accused of attacking regular commuters. The force has maintained that it was only targeting radicals who had changed clothes to blend in with passengers.
Officials had repeatedly debunked persistent rumours that three people died from police brutality in the incident.
Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming has yet to decide when he will hear Leung’s application for the disclosure of the footage to his lawyers, only that it will take place earliest on December 2.
A key question expected to be raised at the anticipated hearing is whether the MTR Corp has a duty to assist Leung in his intended claim.
Leung’s lawyers had previously revealed plans to sue the police commissioner for personal injuries, loss and damage arising from an alleged assault and unlawful arrest during the operation at Prince Edward station.
The student had been arrested at the station for unlawful assembly at around 12.17am on September 1 and taken to Lai Chi Kok station before he was finally brought to Kwai Chung Police Station. He was unconditionally released the following night, after a brief admission to Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung.
Leung’s lawyers have since demanded that the MTR Corp provide footage at Prince Edward station from 9.45pm on August 31 to 1.45am on September 1, and of Lai Chi Kok station from 12.30am to 2am on September 1.
The MTR Corp last week released screenshots from security footage and announced in press releases that it would keep “relevant footage from Prince Edward and other relevant stations” for three years.
Its legal adviser, Hana Connie, also sworn in affirmation to the court that the “relevant stations” would include Lai Chi Kok.
But barrister Anthony Cheung, representing Leung, on Monday expressed concerns about leaving it to the railway operator to decide what was relevant.
At issue was whether there was sufficient evidence to prove the risk of the MTR Corp disposing of the footage, which would then justify Leung’s request.
On Thursday, the judge concluded: “There is no basis whatsoever to doubt the good faith of the MTR Corp.”
Still, Chow exercised his discretion to order the preservation after considering a potential risk that the footage of Lai Chi Kok station may be erased ahead of the hearing.
Security footage recorded at MTR stations would generally be kept for 28 days, but may be preserved for as long as three years in some circumstances.
Such situations, however, were not clearly or precisely defined, Chow observed.
Meanwhile the Fire Services Department held a press briefing on Thursday for the fourth time to brush off rumours of the three deaths in the incident after pan-democratic lawmakers Claudia Mo Man-ching and Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu went public with its official operations logbook.
In an online briefing streamed live to the media on Tuesday, Yeung, flanked by three masked individuals who claimed to be firefighters, had accused the department of making changes in the logbook days after the incident.
In Thursday’s press conference, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Derek Armstrong Chan said the logbook amendments involved mostly adding names of officers involved or elaborating on shorthand notes.
Chan said officers had listened to more than 1,000 voice recordings and were still updating the logbook, adding that it was normal to supplement or amend entries to ensure they accurately reflected the situation.
Senior Assistant Chief Ambulance Officer Lo Shun-tong said the department had not asked the MTR Corp for security footage, as the images earlier revealed by the rail giant and information given by fire services staff were sufficient.
“We respect the concerns and regulations of the MTR Corp when it comes to whether it would make the footage public,” Lo said.
Chan added that the department had launched a disciplinary probe after the logbook leak. Any disclosure of internal information could violate the Fire Services Ordinance.
