The Department of Justice Prosecutions Division released its annual report today, reviewing its work and key cases over the past year.

In the report, Director of Public Prosecutions David Leung touched on the continuing verbal abuse faced by prosecutors.

He said that while prosecutors are not immune from criticisms, they and their family members should not become victims of such unwarranted abuses. 

“Prosecutors conduct criminal prosecutions not because of their personal interests. They do so on behalf of the public as ministers of justice.”

Noting attacks on the presiding judges when the outcome of the cases with a political background do not tally with their expectation, Mr Leung stressed that the public should have confidence in Hong Kong's judicial system and judicial officers and refrain from lodging baseless attacks on judges.

He also further elaborated on the key challenges for the division in 2017. 

For cases related to the Occupy Central movement and incidents in Mong Kok involving violence in February 2016, Mr Leung said as in any other case, the decision of whether to prosecute and the appropriate charges, was purely based on the available evidence and the principles set out in the Prosecution Code, and nothing else.

In respect of the review of sentences cases, he reiterated that prosecutors only conduct review of sentences in the rarest of cases.

Click here for the report.