Judges hit by harassment calls

The Department of Justice said the government will not tolerate "despicable acts of harassing judges" after a district court judge was harassed over the phone.

Justice Stanley Chan Kwong-chi said in a court hearing yesterday that he and other judges have been facing harassment from phone calls and faxes made to their offices.

In a statement issued yesterday, the DoJ said the damage this does to the social order is disgraceful.

"Any act of nuisance, personal attack, language abuse or intimidation of judges will seriously undermine the authority of the court and the public's confidence in Hong Kong's legal system," the DoJ said.

"If anyone attempts to influence a judge by despicable means, the SAR government will take the case very seriously and bring the lawbreakers to justice to ensure the proper execution of judicial work."

The DoJ also said that harassing a judge is a serious crime and offenders could be jailed for up to seven years.

In response to an inquiry from The Standard, the judiciary said the police are investigating the harassment. It also condemned the harassment of judges and said people who are not satisfied with the court's decisions could appeal.

The Law Society also said yesterday that any attempt to influence judges' decisions must cease immediately and urged the public to respect the rule of law.

Chan yesterday slammed the perpetrators for breaching the rule of law and strongly condemned their behavior, which he said has already affected the public's use of the judiciary services.

"Heaven is always watching what you are doing," he said, adding that those who commit crimes will always be caught.

Chan said the perpetrators have committed several offenses, including harassing judicial officers, contempt of court and perverting the course of justice.

He appealed to members of the legal sector, including the Bar Association and the Law Society, to condemn such behavior.

"No matter what political views you support, [such behavior] is doing comprehensive damage to Hong Kong. It's easy to destroy a system, but it takes the effort of people across several generations to build a good and effective one," Chan said.

But Chan said he did not find the nuisances to be linked to a rioting case involving three defendants that he is handling.

The three defendants - unemployed Mok Chun-yu, 33, student Yeung Lok-him, 20, and computer technician Jeffrey Lee Kee-chun, 22 - were accused of participating in a riot outside the Government Offices in Admiralty on September 29, 2019.

They have pleaded not guilty to rioting.

The trial for the case has ended, but Chan adjourned the verdict to November 1 for the verdict, saying he wanted to wait for the result of localist Edward Leung Tin-kei's rioting case appeal on October 5 because the two cases share similarities.