HONG KONG – The Special Duties Team of the Department of Justice received 1,215 cases related to the 2019 anti-extradition amendment bill incidents in Hong Kong and had given legal advice on 1,201 of them.
The DoJ made the statement while responding to media inquiries on Wednesday.
Upon receipt of the evidence and relevant documents from the law enforcement agencies, DoJ prosecutors always handle the cases expeditiously in accordance with the law and the Prosecution Code, the department stressed.
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For the anti-extradition amendment bill incidents, cases involving serious offences such as rioting and unlawful assembly are handled by the Special Duties Team of the department’s Prosecutions Division.
Nevertheless, the law enforcement agencies do not necessarily refer all their cases to the department, it explained, as such cases may still be under investigation or no follow-up action is necessary for the time being.
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When evidence is considered insufficient to warrant a case referral or if the cases have been handled by the law enforcement agencies in accordance with internal procedures, such cases will not be relayed to the department, the DoJ added.