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Hong Kong lawmakers vote down no-confidence motion against embattled justice chief Teresa Cheng over dropped CY Leung case
- Motion by Civic Party’s Dennis Kwok defeated by 11 votes to seven at a meeting of administration of justice panel
- Cheng again refuses to discuss why misconduct case against former leader was dropped
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Lawmakers voted down a third motion of no confidence against Hong Kong’s justice minister Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah on Monday although the embattled official again refused to discuss why a misconduct case against former leader Leung Chun-ying was dropped.
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The no-confidence motion, tabled by legal sector lawmaker Dennis Kwok, was defeated by 11 votes to seven at a meeting of the Legislative Council’s administration of justice and legal services panel.
However, a motion tabled by pro-establishment lawmaker Starry Lee Wai-king in support of the Department of Justice’s independence in handling prosecution decisions was passed.
Cheng has been under fire since her department in December dropped the case against Leung over a payment of HK$50 million (US$6.4 million) he received from Australian firm UGL, part of which was paid after he became the city’s leader in 2012.
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Before making the decision, prosecutors did not first consult external lawyers, as had happened in previous high-profile cases.
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