Today is October 10, 2007. Two years has passed after Li Yuen Yee killed herself upon the framing of the police. The Coroner’s Court finished its hearing in May last year. We witnessed how inconsistent the court statement provided by the police officers were, and that some facts were hidden (such as the use of condom). We also witnessed how the sergeant was shielding his subordinate. Her family filed a complaint to the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) in late 2005, and eventually got a reply this year stating that the complaint was handled to the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) for endorsement. Nonetheless, IPCC has not yet made up their mind to endorse the case. Neither did CAPO report anything about the investigation to Li’s family. Zi Teng feels greatly sorry to the above.

In fact, Li’s case is not the only case. Many sex workers did file complaints against police abuse to CAPO during the past two years, but they were thwarted by the police in different ways, such as delaying the investigation, threatening the complainant, refusing to jot down every words provided by the complainant. These often create great pressure to the complainants. The complaint system with police officers investigating the complaints against their counterparts highly lacks transparency. It even “encourages police officers to continue their misbehavior without bearing any consequence”.

In order to arouse again your attention on the issue, to express your support to Li’s family, and to urge the police for the release of the investigation result for the reputation of the deceased, we hope that you can leave a message on our blog.

Zi Teng Blog: http://ziteng_hk.mysinablog.com/index.php

Zi Teng (Sex Workers Concern Organization)October 10, 2007