Court escape baffles barrister

Wallis Wang

It is rare that a suspected drug trafficker could escape custody from a court by impersonating another detainee, a barrister said, adding that the incident must have been caused by negligence.

Police are still searching for the 37-year-old suspected drug trafficker, Chan, who escaped from the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on Monday by switching identification wristbands with 24-year-old domestic violence suspect, Lam.

Barrister Johnny So Chun-man said he had never seen such a mix-up of identity among court suspects.

"I believe this incident was caused by negligence," So said. "If there are loopholes in custody and bail procedures at court, a lot of similar cases would have happened before.

"Usually we see cases of a suspect jumping bail, but it's rare that someone who was rejected bail was able to escape by impersonating another."

So said the authorities should learn from the incident and set up guidelines on how to verify suspects' identities.

If suspects claim to have lost their ID card, the police or correctional services officers should check their fingerprints or verify the claim with the Immigration Department.

Lawmakers also urged the government to enhance identity verification methods.

Elizabeth Quat Pei-fan of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said the current wristbands were outdated.

"We have plenty of biometric technologies that can be used to identify suspects, including storing their fingerprints and photos in their wristbands," she said.

"However, the current wristbands cannot be scanned. It's outdated and as if we're living in the stone age."

Quat also urged the government to review the current custody and identity verification arrangements as soon as possible as more criminals might attempt a similar getaway.

It is unrealistic to separate all suspects at court and ban them from talking to each other, Quat said, adding that the government should supervise the suspects by using technologies such as installing recording equipment and surveillance cameras.

Quat's idea was echoed by New People's Party lawmaker Eunice Yung Hoi-yan, who said law enforcers should verify suspects' fingerprints in the future and enhance the design of their wristbands so that the suspects cannot take them off.