Lawmakers say he should have called police on 999 if he felt under threat and demand an explanation
CHRISTY.LEUNG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 27 December, 2015, 3:20am
UPDATED : Sunday, 27 December, 2015, 3:35am
Eddie Ng Hak-kim, Secretary for Education, speaks to reporters in Legislative Council,.
Education minister Eddie Ng Hak-kim has been accused of abusing his power by seeking help from the Security Bureau rather than the police after being chased by two reporters.
The Apple Daily reporters were detained by the police for more than 90 minutes on Christmas Eve on suspicion of loitering, even though they produced press cards to officers.
A police spokesman said earlier that they had received a report referral that a man had been followed by strangers, but he did not reveal the source of the report.
The Security Bureau confirmed to the Post yesterday that it received a report from the Education Bureau on Christmas Eve in which it stated that its minister, Ng, felt threatened as he had been followed by unknown strangers and a vehicle several times during the week. The Security Bureau transferred the case to the police for follow-up action.
Lawmakers slammed Ng for abusing his power and said he had taken advantage of his title to handle a personal issue.
“How on earth is he justified to use the Education Bureau to contact the Security Bureau to handle an obvious personal matter of his?” asked Civic Party lawmaker Alan Leong Kah-kit.
Leong said Ng owed the public an explanation.
His fellow Civic Party lawmaker, Claudia Mo Man-ching, said Ng had set a horrible precedent. “So all chiefs can now call the Security Bureau for help if they are annoyed by chasing reporters?” she asked.
Mo also questioned why Ng did not call 999 directly if he felt he was in danger.
Liberal Party honorary chairman James Tien Pei-chun uploaded a picture of himself wearing a helmet and snowboard googles on his Facebook page with a sarcastic caption: “Dress like me if you are followed by reporters. No one can recognise you then. Why waste police resources?”
The education chief did not respond to media queries about whether or why he had contacted the Security Bureau, only that he had “sought assistance” out of concerns for his safety. Ng said he would not have needed police help if he had known the two “strangers” were reporters.
Apple Daily said its reporters had followed Ng day and night since December 18 to see how he handled questions on the controversial Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) at public events.
It is understood that the car in which the reporters followed Ng did not have an Apple Daily logo.
Ng was ridiculed for failing to turn up to a public hearing on the TSA for Primary Three pupils.
According to the University of Hong Kong’s Public Opinion Programme, Ng’s support rate hit a record low of 10.9 per cent in early December – the lowest of all bureau chiefs.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1895009/hong-kongs-education-minister-eddie-ng-accused-abusing-power
