Eric Cheung talks to RTHK's Janice Wong
A law professor at the University of Hong Kong said it is not easy to convict anyone charged with causing grievous bodily harm – the charge filed against seven police officers accused of beating a pro-democracy activist at Tamar Park last year.
Professor Eric Cheung said if the charge cannot be substantiated, the officers could face a lesser charge resulting in a non-custodial sentence. But it is also likely that because they are police officers, it might end in prison sentences.
Cheung also told RTHK’s Janice Wong that he didn't think it was unusual for the officers to be charged on the same day as the victim.
The police had drawn a lot of flak for the apparent delay in deciding how to proceed with the case against the officers accused of beating Ken Tsang. The new police Facebook page has recently been flooded by messages asking when the seven officers would be charged.
They filed the charges on Thursday, a year after the date of the alleged beating, but also charged Tsang with assaulting and resisting officers in relation to a series of events leading up to the alleged beating.
The incident last year garnered global media attention as the footage aired by a local channel appeared to show the seven officers punching and kicking Tsang who was lying on the ground. It happened on October 15 last year during the Occupy protests over political reforms.
Professor Eric Cheung said if the charge cannot be substantiated, the officers could face a lesser charge resulting in a non-custodial sentence. But it is also likely that because they are police officers, it might end in prison sentences.
Cheung also told RTHK’s Janice Wong that he didn't think it was unusual for the officers to be charged on the same day as the victim.
The police had drawn a lot of flak for the apparent delay in deciding how to proceed with the case against the officers accused of beating Ken Tsang. The new police Facebook page has recently been flooded by messages asking when the seven officers would be charged.
They filed the charges on Thursday, a year after the date of the alleged beating, but also charged Tsang with assaulting and resisting officers in relation to a series of events leading up to the alleged beating.
The incident last year garnered global media attention as the footage aired by a local channel appeared to show the seven officers punching and kicking Tsang who was lying on the ground. It happened on October 15 last year during the Occupy protests over political reforms.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1217710-20151016.htm
