Former IPCC Foreign Expert: Report Lacks Key Data and Independent Inquiry Needed

Clifford Stott, a professor of social psychology at Keele University in Britain, has criticised the report on police conduct released by
Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) in Hong Kong on May 15.

Stott was hired by the IPCC, before he and all other 4 foreign experts quitted the board in December 2019, citing that the IPCC lacked the powers and capacity to conduct independent investigation.

Stott tweeted after the report went public, "It would seem the release of the IPCC report is part of a wider set of coordinated announcements designed to deliver the new 'truth'." His comment was accompanied by a quote by George Orwell, the author famous for his books 1984 and Animal Farm.

On the same day, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government was seeking ways to prevent "lies" from spreading online and that the police's professionalism was beyond doubt, Stott responded with the tweet: "Speechless!"

An independent investigation of police violence has been one of the five demands of the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong since the police-civilian clash on June 12, 2019. Stott also pointed out that the current report lacks key data and an independent inquiry is needed to settle public concern about the Hong Kong Policd Force's conduct.

Chief Executive, however, has been rejecting the possibility of an independent investigation to this very day. Meanwhile, Lam, the Hong Kong police force and the Security Bureau all praised the report which claimed that there is no "systemic problems" in the police force.

Source: RTHK; Stand News #May15
#IPCC #GeorgeOrwell #Stott