On Christmas Eve the year before last, under the pretext of anti-crime operations, the police sent riot police to “clear the field” at Tung Chau Street Park in Sham Shui Po. Afterwards, many people who had exposed their belongings claimed that their belongings were lost. 14 of them, with the assistance of social workers, filed with the Small Claims Court. Recovery of more than 2,000 to 13,000 yuan of property.
Nearly two years later, the case officially opened today (9th), but only 9 claimants remained.
Some street sleepers confessed that the police did not give them enough time to clean up that day, and their belongings were put into trash bins by FEHD staff and sent to the trash room immediately.
Someone who showed signs of shrinkage had crawled into the garbage room to find the lost property, but in the end did not get anything, and demanded compensation.
Some claimants claimed that the lost items included "Alishanda" brand jackets and trousers worth 3,000 yuan. Some claimed that they had lost 21 cans of luncheon meat.
14 claimants now have 9 remaining
The 14 claimants claimed compensations ranging from HK$2,000 to HK$13,290 respectively, and the defendant was the Secretary of Justice.
Two of the claimants were rejected due to their absence from the hearing. The other two were hospitalized at Caritas Medical and were arrested a few days earlier. They were also temporarily unable to testify in court. They have entrusted a social worker representative to appear in court. There are currently 9 claimants remaining.
Someone claimed to lose 3,000 yuan worth of Alexander brand clothing
The claimants claimed to have lost mattresses, clothing, CSSA payments, wheelchairs, etc. Some of them reported that they had lost 21 cans of luncheon meat.
Others reported that they had lost "Alexander" brand jackets and trousers with a total value of more than HK$3,000. The adjudicator Lin Xiwei looked after and asked: "Buy it? How many times are you wearing your upper body?"
The police only gave a few minutes to clean up
Seven of the claimants gave evidence in court. Some claimed to have witnessed the presence of riot police officers on the same day. They only gave them a few minutes to pack up their personal belongings. They instructed the staff of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department to put all their belongings in a large green trash bin and finally pushed them to The garbage room near the squash court is discarded.
The claimant claimed that the time given by the police was not enough. Some only dragged away the bed frame and turned around and found that all the items had been lost.
Climbing into the rubbish room and unable to retrieve items
All seven claimants went to the garbage room to retrieve their items afterwards, but the garbage room was locked, and some claimants with limited mobility were unable to search inside.
Even if there were people who crawled into the garbage room, because there were more than ten garbage cans in it, and the items were soaked and smelly, they found several garbage cans and abandoned them without finding them.
Some claimants claim to have cognitive impairment and memory bias
When questioning a claimant surnamed Liu, the defense representative questioned the written statement that the police had given them several minutes to clean up, but the court accused the police that they would not be allowed to approach.
Liu explained that because he suffers from schizophrenia and mental disorders, he has cognitive impairment and memory deviation, and said that the situation at the time was not too serious, so the oral supply at that time was more accurate.
The claimant Ma Yuerong passed away last month, and his cousin Zhou Xiongguang took the photo of his cousin and continued to claim on behalf of Ma.
(Photo by Lu Nuojun)
Some continue to claim for his deceased cousin
The claimant Ma Yuerong passed away last month and was unable to attend. His cousin Zhou Xiongguang continued to claim on behalf of his cousin. When he gave testimony, he choked and said: "Cousin said that it is not a matter of money, it is fair!" Lin Guanze Means: "Our court is about money, the Small Claims Tribunal."
The police inspector said there was time to clean up
Police Inspector Wu Yanbai confessed that he was the person in charge of the operation that day, leading 3 police chiefs and 19 police officers to cooperate with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department to remove unidentified items from the park.
They began to persuade street sleepers to pack up their personal belongings at the Octagonal Pavilion in the park at 3:40 pm, and they did not officially clear the venue until 4:05, with a 25-minute interval.
The clearance operation was completed at 5:30, and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department picked up 12 vehicles of unclaimed items.
Police Inspector Wu Yanbai said that there was time for the homeless at the scene to take care of it.
(Photo by Liu Anqi)
No one has heard that the cash or property has been cleared
Wu claimed that the street sleepers were not given definite time to pack up, because they expected to give the other party reasonable time. During this period, street sleepers asked for more time and the police agreed.
Wu said that when cleaning up the objects, they did not hear anyone yelling that cash or other property was cleared, nor did they stop the street sleepers from returning to the park or blockade them there.
Regarding the LCSD's claim that it was cooperating with the police in its anti-drug operation, the police said it was cooperating with the LCSD to clean up unclaimed items.
Wu explained that the police did conduct an anti-drug operation before 2:30 pm that day and arrested a total of 5 people.
After that, the police began to cooperate with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department to carry out clean-up operations.
Case No.: SCTC25-30, 32/20 and SCTC020434-35/20
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