Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen says he never gave legal advice to taxi drivers and minibus operators and no public money was wasted. Photo: HKEJ
Yuen hits back at school in protest injunction row
Hong Kong Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen is pushing back against his own school which accused him of failing to perform his duty during the pro-democracy street protests.
Yuen defended his actions over a series of High Court injunctions against the protesters, saying such petitions are permitted under civil law, Apple Daily reported Wednesday.
These are quite apart from the criminal aspect of the unauthorized protests which requires prosecution, Yuen told a law conference in Macau.
In a statement in a number of Hong Kong newspapers Monday, alumni, students, parents and former teachers of Queen Elizabeth School, Yuen’s alma mater, accused him of using the courts to resolve political issues.
Yuen showed bias in allowing the process to continue, the statement said.
He deflected criticism stemming from his meetings with minibus and taxi operators, the petitioners, saying these were necessary to give the police some idea.
Yuen said he never gave legal advice to the petitioners and no government money had been wasted.
He declined to say what punishment the arrested protesters might face.
The voluntary surrender of some protesters does not mean rule of law was not harmed, he said.
But the biggest impact of the protests has been on Hong Kong society as a whole.
Meanwhile, former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa expressed relief at the end of the two-month-long street occupation.
He said all Hong Kong people should be proud of themselves for showing tolerance and urged them not to forget the lessons from the experience.
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