Advertisement

No apology as Hong Kong police express 'regret' over mistaken arrest of autistic man

Police last night expressed regret over the treatment of an autistic man wrongly charged with manslaughter, but stopped short of a formal apology. 

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Police came under fire for wrongly accusing a 30-year-old man with autism and a mild intellectual disability of manslaughter. Photo: SCMP

Police last night expressed regret over the treatment of an autistic man wrongly charged with manslaughter, but stopped short of a formal apology.

Advertisement

The 30-year-old autistic man was arrested on May 2 on suspicion of killing a 73-year-old man in a basketball court in Mei Lam Estate, Sha Tin.

Police laid a holding charge of manslaughter on May 4, but dropped it hours later because he had an alibi.

The statement, issued at 11.30pm, came hours after a social welfare group said it had in fact provided officers with details of the suspect’s activities, including CCTV footage, from the day of the alleged killing before the charges were laid.

It did not state whether the information constituted an alibi, but the news raised further questions about the police’s handling of the case.

Advertisement

“When police were investigating this murder case, a serious crime, unpleasant experiences were brought to the person in question and his family during the truth-seeking process,” the police statement read.

Advertisement