HONG KONG
A total of 31 Hong Kong Public Servants have been suspended after they were arrested for taking part in illegal protests during months of social unrest in the Special Administrative Region.
Secretary for the Civil Service, Joshua Law Chi-kong said the workers could lose their jobs if convicted by the courts.
“Out of 41 arrested, 31 have been interdicted and suspended from service,” he said.
Mr Law said the decision to suspend the arrested Public Servants was made in the public interest.
He did not reveal whether anyone from the disciplined forces or public education sector were among those arrested, but stressed the number of Public Servants detained for taking part in unlawful public activities accounted for only a tiny minority of the 180,000-strong Government workforce.
“The majority of Civil Servants are conscientious in discharging their duties,” Mr Law said.
“Members of the public shouldn’t dismiss the loyalty of Civil Servants because of the arrests of a small number of Government employees,” he said.
President of the Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants’ Association, Li Kwai-yin said it was a normal arrangement to suspend Public Servants after they were arrested, particularly those who provided direct services to the public.
“For instance, it would affect public confidence if a social worker was arrested in connection with sexual offences,” she said, adding that the impact would depend on the severity of the offence.
However, Chief Executive of the Federation of Civil Service Unions, Leung Chau-ting was critical of the Government’s decision to suspend staff before the courts could deliver their verdicts.
“It violates the principle of presumption of innocence under the common law system in Hong Kong,” Mr Leung said.
Accusing police of mishandling the protests, he said: “It would be unfair to Civil Servants who might be arrested arbitrarily.”
Hong Kong, 11 January 2020
