Former Hong Kong Journalists Association chair Ronson Chan has applied for a certificate of leave to appeal his conviction for obstructing a police officer to the Court of Final Appeal. The application was heard on 28 October.
The case stems from September 2022, when Chan was reporting on a special owners’ meeting for Long Ping Estate at MacPherson Stadium and refused a female officer’s request to show identification. He was convicted of obstructing an officer and sentenced to five days’ imprisonment. An earlier appeal against the conviction and sentence was dismissed.
Chan’s side argues that section 54(1) of the Police Force Ordinance gives officers power to stop people but does not, by itself, authorise them to demand identification. His counsel said an officer would need to meet the conditions of another law, such as the Public Order Ordinance or immigration legislation.
The 1992 amendment is also in dispute. Chan’s side says it did not replace a need for reasonable belief that an identification check was required to prevent, detect or investigate an offence with a lower test of simply finding someone suspicious. His counsel argued that crossing the road diagonally and holding a hand on his cross-body bag could not, on their own, justify the demand.
The respondent argues that the provision contains no restriction of the kind Chan’s side proposes, and that this interpretation would add to or rewrite the law.
In dismissing the earlier appeal, the judge considered the identification check reasonable, referring to the officer’s testimony that intelligence indicated people had been encouraged to attend the meeting and hold signs. The judge found that Chan had deliberately obstructed the officer.
A decision on whether to issue the certificate has been reserved.