LCQ16: HKSAR Government committed to cooperating with other jurisdictions in combating crimes
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Question:
In February this year, a Hong Kong woman went missing during a tour to Taiwan. It has been reported that Taiwan Police found, after investigation, that the woman had been killed and they suspect that a Hong Kong man who went to Taiwan with the woman and subsequently returned to Hong Kong alone is the murderer. Under general legal principles, the courts in Hong Kong may not have jurisdiction to hear the case in question which occurred outside Hong Kong, unless there is evidence showing that certain acts of the suspect (e.g. the plotting of the murder) were committed in Hong Kong. Moreover, as the Hong Kong Government has yet to enter into with the Taiwan authorities an agreement on the surrender of fugitive offenders under the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap 503), the law enforcement authorities in Hong Kong probably may not surrender the suspect, who has the right of abode in Hong Kong, to the Taiwan authorities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the progress made so far by the Hong Kong Police and the Department of Justice (DoJ) in handling the aforesaid case;
(2) when it can confirm whether the case will be heard by the courts in Hong Kong or in Taiwan;
(3) apart from the suspect voluntarily going to Taiwan, whether there are policies, legislation and procedure based on which the Government may transfer him to Taiwan for trial; if so, of the details;
(4) whether DoJ and the Police of Hong Kong may provide, and have provided, assistance to the Taiwan authorities in respect of case investigation (including gathering of evidence); if they may provide and have provided assistance, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) when and how the authorities will plug the loophole in the law which has rendered the authorities of Hong Kong and Taiwan unable to surrender fugitive offenders to each other, in order to prevent offenders who have committed very serious crimes from getting away without being punished?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
Hong Kong has been committed to cooperating with other jurisdictions in combating crimes. Articles 95 and 96 of the Basic Law provide that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) may make appropriate arrangements for reciprocal juridical assistance with the judicial organs of other parts of the country (through consultations) and foreign states (with the assistance or authorisation of the Central People's Government). Since Hong Kong's return to the Motherland, the HKSAR Government has been expanding such arrangements to widen its juridical assistance network by signing relevant agreements with more jurisdictions. So far, Hong Kong has signed agreements on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters (MLA) with 32 jurisdictions (Note 1) and agreements on surrender of fugitive offenders (SFO) with 20 jurisdictions (Note 2). Currently, there is no MLA or SFO arrangement between Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Besides, the Hong Kong Police and other law enforcement agencies liaise and cooperate with their counterparts in other places from time to time to exchange intelligence for combating crimes. Parties concerned are required to fully comply with their respective laws and requirements in the liaison and cooperation.
The HKSAR Government attaches great importance to the case mentioned in the question. The Police have maintained close contact with the Department of Justice (DoJ) in examining the appropriate way to handle the case. Police officers were sent to Taiwan on March 21, 2018 to follow up on relevant matters. The body of the deceased was also examined by forensic pathologists on April 4 after its repatriation to Hong Kong, with a view to collecting all evidence which may be useful. As the case involves two jurisdictions, we have to check it out and conduct in-depth investigation into what had happened, what crimes had been involved and what evidence had been collected in both jurisdictions before further determining how the case should be handled and pursued. Investigation of the case and related legal proceedings are still in progress.
Currently, there is no MLA or SFO arrangement between Hong Kong and Taiwan. According to the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance (Cap 525 of the Laws of Hong Kong) and the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap 503 of the Laws of Hong Kong), the applicability of the said ordinances does not cover "Central People's Government or the government of any other part of the People's Republic of China" or "any other part of the People's Republic of China".
The HKSAR Government is now working hard and is diligently handling this case which involves two jurisdictions. At present, the alleged person has been arrested by Hong Kong Police and is under detention by order of the court. The Police will handle the case in a serious manner, and act in accordance with Hong Kong law and in light of its scope of work and the actual circumstances of collecting evidence. The DoJ will consider the appropriate arrangement for handling the case under the existing legal framework. As the legal proceedings of the case are under way, it is not appropriate for us to disclose details of the handling of the case at this stage.
Note 1: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Ukraine.
Note 2: Australia, Canada, Czech, France, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Ends/Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Issued at HKT 12:25
Issued at HKT 12:25
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