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A police officer checks a pub in Tsim Sha Tsui on March 29, after the government announced a ban on gatherings of more than four people as Hong Kong recorded rising numbers of Covid-19 patients. Photo: Edmond So
OpinionLetters

Letters | Coronavirus offers Hong Kong police a chance to repair image: arrests in the dead of night do more damage

  • The arrest of a district councillor in the small hours is not in the spirit of ethical policing
  • The police have to be accountable to the public and transparent in their exercising of arrest action
Hong Kong police
Letters
Letters
Why you can trust SCMP
Robert Peel developed certain principles to define an ethical police force – perhaps it is time for the Hong Kong Police Force to revisit these. 

In his model of policing, Peel laid out that police officers are regarded as citizens in uniform. They exercise their powers to police their fellow citizens with the implicit consent of those fellow citizens.

Thus, “policing by consent” means that any legitimacy to police in the eyes of the public is based upon a general consensus of support from that community and follows from transparency about police powers and police integrity in exercising those powers, and in their accountability for so doing.

This model is British in origin and it has been followed by many jurisdictions worldwide, including by the Hong Kong police.

As a retired Hong Kong police officer, I noted the recent arrest of Cheng Lai-king, the elected chairperson of the Central and Western District Council, with horror.

I won’t go into why she was arrested – that will be for the prosecution to prove and the judiciary to process. But the despicable manner in which she was arrested around 1am in her residence and then held until the following afternoon – is serious cause for concern (“Hong Kong politician arrested under colonial-era offence of sedition”, March 26).

There was no need for this, and her interview and processing could have been completed within office hours – in a professional and reasonable manner. As I mentioned, the police have to be accountable to the public and transparent in their exercising of arrest action.

Cheng is an elected politician sitting in a pivotal role in Central, the seat of all main government, judicial and business undertakings in the Hong Kong SAR. At this time of public emergency during a global pandemic, I would have thought any action against Cheng could easily have waited – to allow her to carry out her role in running the district, such as overseeing hygiene, social distancing and the myriad of other measures needed on an hourly basis.

After all, we are living in unprecedented times of danger, as the virus ebbs and flows both in Hong Kong and the rest of the world.

At this time, both people and organisations will be judged on how they carry out their roles, more than at any time in living memory.

Therefore, perhaps the police could do more to improve their sorry standing in Hong Kong by reaching out to the community they police, instead of arresting our elected politicians in the small hours - by starting to help, sustain and bolster Hong Kong and its people as we move through extremely difficult times.

Mark Ford-McNicol, Sai Kung

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