Barrister Margaret Ng, one of five trustees of a protester relief fund to be arrested last week, has asked Hong Kong’s High Court to bar police from reading or using legally privileged materials seized during the operation.
The other arrestees were 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, cultural studies scholar Hui Po-keung, singer-activist Denise Ho and former lawmaker Cyd Ho. National security police accused them of conspiring to collude with foreign powers.
Except for Cyd Ho, who is now serving a prison term for a separate protest-related case, the other four were released on police bail.
Ng asked the court to order the police to return any document seized from her address that is protected by legal professional privilege, or is outside the ambit of the search warrant.
She also asked the court to restrain the force from accessing, reviewing or making use of these materials without her consent.
Ng also asked the High Court to direct police how to handle the seized documents, including “the inspection, examination and photocopying” of them, as well as how they determine whether the material falls into privileged categories.
In addition, she seeks compensation from the police for any damage caused by their seizure of privileged documents. The court has made no decision yet on her application.
Ng filed a similar application to the High Court in January following a police raid and arrests targeting the now-defunct Stand News. She was a former director of the online media outlet and one of those arrested and bailed.
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