Hong Kong’s top court has rejected a final appeal application from retired police officer Frankly Chu.
Video evidence showed Chu hitting a pedestrian with a baton without prior warning during the Umbrella Movement protests in 2014. Chu was convicted of assault occasioning bodily harm in December 2017 and was first sentenced to three months’ imprisonment by a magistrate.
He was allowed to post bail pending appeal, but the High Court rejected his appeal in September last year. He completed his sentence last October.
Chu applied for a final appeal, and the arguments were heard at the top court on Monday.
Senior counsel Charlotte Draycott, representing Chu, said the High Court judge did not consider all the evidence, and only considered whether the magistrate made a mistake.
Draycott also said statements from the victim Osman Cheng were not credible, and he was not only a pedestrian since he had shouted at the police before the baton hit.
The Court of Final Appeal rejected Draycott’s claims and said there was no arguable appeal case with any reasonable chance of success.
Peter Pannu, another barrister representing Chu, said outside the court that Chu respected the judgment. Pannu said Chu had only wanted to enforce the law and he had no regrets.
