New Territories East by-election candidate Christine Fong Kwok-shan has been acquitted of common assault against pro-Beijing lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan.
The two reportedly got into a scuffle in Tseung Kwan O on July 3, 2014, when Fong and some Tseung Kwan O residents protested against Quat, demanding she fulfill her election promises to oppose the expansion of landfills in Tseung Kwan O.
Quat’s party, The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, called the police at the scene, but Fong was only arrested after a year, on August 19, 2015.
Fong questioned the timing of the arrest, saying that it was political suppression, as it came close to the district council elections in November 2015 in which Fong ran, and won.
“Is it that as long as it’s DAB, they can do whatever they want?” Fong said. “I absolutely did not beat her up.”
Fong also said that she had complained about Quat’s allegedly fake degrees, and Quat allegedly falsely accused her of the assault to take revenge, Apple Daily reported.
Quat denied knowledge that Fong had complained about her. She also said that she did not put pressure on the police.
Fong is currently running as a candidate in the LegCo by-election for New Territories East, the same constituency where Quat won one of the nine LegCo seats. The by-election on February 28 is held due to the resignation of former Civic Party member Ronny Tong Ka-wah from LegCo.
