Airport chiefs broke safety rules for former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying’s daughter, court finds

Judge agrees with flight attendant that Leung Chung-yan should have been present when her left-behind bag was X-ray screened – despite the government changing the rules after the event

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The left-luggage issue became a political furore for Leung Chun-ying back in 2016. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 6:00pm, 23 Aug 2018Updated: 9:53am, 24 Aug 2018

Hong Kong’s High Court ruled on Thursday that airport bosses broke security rules when they delivered a left-behind bag to then chief executive Leung Chun-ying’s daughter at a boarding gate two years ago.

Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming sided with flight attendant Law Mei-mei, who initiated a judicial review over the incident which turned into a political furore for Leung, whose term ended last year. At issue was whether a cabin bag could be taken through security screening without the passenger accompanying it – in this case, Leung Chung-yan.

In his 50-page ruling, Chow declared decisions made by the Airport Authority and the Aviation Security Company (AVESCO) contravened the Hong Kong Aviation Security Programme (HKASP) in force at the time. He concluded the government had later amended the security rules specifically to address the Leung case.

Leung Chun-ying posted on Facebook several hours after the ruling, insisting the authority had always allowed courtesy delivery when handling left-behind luggage.

“So when the airline crew handed over the luggage to Chung-yan, it was the usual practice rather than a prerogative,” he wrote.