Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said in a special press conference yesterday that the police deny the claim that a resident had been pressured by the Public Security Police (PSP) to cancel his planned May Day demonstration, as recently reported by a local online media outlet.
Chan did not name the outlet.
Chan said that there was no evidence that the police had followed, monitored or pressured the resident. Chan said that the resident’s claim was “purely speculative”, lacking “substantive proof.”
The police did not name the resident. Local media reports earlier this week identified him as an labour rights activist nicknamed “Captain Macau”.
According to Chan, the police invited the resident to a police station on Saturday and interviewed him for four hours, during which he claimed that he had felt “pressured” and did not want to be “taken advantage of” during his planned demonstration. He also considered the benefit to civil society by cancelling the protest, Chan said, adding that the resident failed to provide any text messages demonstrating pressure from the police.
Chan added that PJ officers also investigated the resident’s claim that he had driven away at speed because he was being tailed by police. After reviewing CCTV footage and conducting on-site inspections, Chan said there was no indication the resident had been followed or monitored.
Chan noted that the resident has a lengthy traffic violation record dating back to 2018, including multiple instances of speeding, running red lights and illegal parking. However, 124 other vehicles had also been ticketed for parking illegally in the same locations, Chan said, adding that the actions of PSP officers were “not targeted or selective”.
As for the resident’s claim that he had been followed and monitored by the police, leading to speeding and other traffic violations, Chan underlined that after reviewing nearby surveillance footage there was no evidence of him being followed, and it was simply his “subjective speculation”. Chan also said that the law enforcement actions taken by the police were not targeted or selective, and they would follow up on the case.
Regarding the resident’s alleged illegal gambling activities in a shop in the northern district, the police had received at least five complaints since 2018 and conducted four investigations on site, but no illegal gambling was found to have taken place in the shop.
Chan insisted that the police officers’ enforcement actions were all carried out in accordance with the law, and that the resident’s accusations against the police were “completely unfounded”. Chan noted that some media reports about the case were not consistent with the facts, and the police would continue to follow up on the matter.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man (left) and a PJ investigator look on during yesterday’s special press conference about the “Captain Macau” claim.
– Photo: William Chan
