Special unit for unrest prosecutions dissolved

A special duty division at the Department of Justice for prosecutions of anti-fugitive protest cases has been removed as Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said its work has been completed.

Speaking to reporters before he left for Beijing, Lam said the special duty division had provided legal advice to the social unrest cases based on police request.

Work has been generally completed. What is left now is just some work to follow up on opinions which only involved a small number of cases.

"Of course we will continue to provide relevant advice to law enforcement agencies when necessary," Lam said.

"The removal of this division is purely an internal personnel adjustment, which allows us to use resources more effectively," he said.

Despite this, the justice secretary assured that authorities will deal with any cases in a timely manner.

Meanwhile, pan-democratic Civic Party passed a resolution on Saturday to wind up the party after 17 years.

Party chairman Alan Leong Kah-kit said 30 of 31 members had voted to wind up the party, with only one abstaining. The party was formed by professionals, including lawyers, accountants and scholars, and considered as a more moderate voice in the pan-democratic camp.

Ex-Civic Party legislators Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, Jeremy Tam Man-ho and Kwok Ka-ki are currently in custody.

Lam was asked whether the party was trying to escape from legal responsibility by disbanding.

He said he would not make any speculative comments, but added that legally speaking the party is a limited company. "As long as there is an appropriate agreement between its members, any limited company can go through the process of winding up," he said.