The Judiciary Police (PJ) said in a statement Wednesday that it has asked lawmaker Au Kam San to apologise for his remarks alleging phone tapping by the police which were published in a local newspaper last month.
The Judiciary Police told the non-establishment lawmaker to make the apology within 10 days. The Judiciary Police went on to say that otherwise it would launch a criminal procedure to hold the lawmaker criminally responsible for his remarks.
The PJ statement accused Au of “ignoring the facts and severely defaming” the Judiciary Police.
Following the government’s launch on September 26 of a public consultation on the drafting of a bill regulating the tapping of telephones during police investigations into criminal cases, Au told local Chinese-language newspaper Macao Daily News he wondered whether the police had illegally carried out phone tapping in a case several years ago when a resident phoned him and claimed to be going to the PJ headquarters to set himself alight. The report on Au’s remarks was published on September 28.
Au said in the news report that police officers had already made preparations – by carrying fire extinguishers – before that resident arrived at the PJ headquarters. Au said in the report he wondered whether the police knew his resident’s action in advance by carrying out phone tapping.
Speaking to reporters on September 28, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak accused Au of ignoring the facts and making false remarks. Wong said that that resident openly told the media about his intended action and that the police had already received notifications from local media outlets, so that the police could make preparations before the resident arrived at the PJ headquarters.
Yesterday’s PJ statement only identified Au by his surname “Au”. The PJ statement said that Au’s remarks amounted to “severe” defamation, which was a criminal offence. .
The PJ statement affirmed that the Judiciary Police only carry out phone tapping in strict adherence with legal requirements.
