Hong Kong court strikes down complaints of bias against judge who convicted protester over carrying zip ties

The defendant last year filed an appeal at the High Court that saw the charge for carrying the zip ties dropped. He had already finished his term at the detention centre when the proceedings began.

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The charge was dropped in response to an earlier ruling from Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung concerning the first such conviction for possessing zip ties, with the top judge arguing a lower court had erroneously adopted a blanket interpretation of “instruments fit for unlawful purposes”.

On Tuesday, the judiciary said the panel of three judges had struck down accusations Cheang was biased against the defence, citing “insufficient factual grounds” and a lack of adverse comments concerning the magistrate in the top court’s ruling last year.

“In his oral reasons for the verdict, the magistrate had analysed the evidence of the police officers and the defence, and articulated the basis for his findings on credibility,” it said.

“On appeal, the defendant did not complain that the magistrate’s findings were erroneous or biased.”

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The judiciary also pointed to the court’s decision last year to uphold Leong’s conviction since the defendant had not lodged an appeal on the grounds that the sentence was wrong or excessive.

The defendant had also attempted to appeal the second charge against him, but his case was dismissed.

The High Court on Tuesday stressed its investigation would not cover whether a verdict or a sentence was correct, but instead focus on whether a judicial officer had expressed biased views and acted inappropriately during a trial.

Detention centre orders can be handed down for young men aged between 14 and 25 convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment, with the period depending on the defendant’s age and subject to requirements set by correctional service authorities.