Lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung has blasted the government’s “lax” attitude in serving him legal documents by tying them to the grill at the front door of his flat.
The documents concern the government’s bid to disqualify him as a lawmaker because of alleged deficiencies in his taking of the oath of office. Lawyers have said it was an “acceptable” method of delivery.
The legal papers were found tied to his flat’s gate with a nylon string when Leung came home on Monday night. Unlike most lawmakers, Leung lives in a public housing estate flat in Kowloon.
Leung said in a video he speculated that since the Department of Justice did not recognise his lawmaker status, the department was unwilling to send the documents to his office at the Legislative Council. “This is very petty,” he wrote.
Leung said that in the past, all legal documents for civil or legal cases that Leung was involved in were sent to his office at the LegCo in Admiralty, which is minutes away from the Department of Justice’s office.
‘Violation of procedure’ claim
Leung added that it was not the first time the documents were tied to his flat’s gate, and that the department did the same last Friday when the government applied for the challenge. However, he did not take photos at the time.
He said that the department bears the responsibility to ensure the documents are given to the defendants.
“It is not only a violation of procedure to tie the documents to the door as a method of delivery, it is also possible the documents may be toyed with by someone and thrown away, or taken away by someone mistakenly thinking they are waste paper or rubbish,” he said.
Lawyer Kevin Yam told HKFP that it was an acceptable way to deliver the documents, but it was uncertain whether the Department of Justice was “dealing him a blow.”
Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Edward Yiu Chung-yim and Lau Siu-lai were also challenged by judicial reviews over their oath-taking ceremonies.
Law said on Sunday after a public forum that he has received the legal documents.
