“Court rules MTR must release CCTV footage to student caught up in Prince Edward Station police raid”, 18 March 2020

The High Court has ordered the MTR Corporation to hand over CCTV footage from Prince Edward and Lai Chi Kok Stations to a student who is seeking damages from the police for alleged assault…

On August 31 last year, baton-wielding riot police stormed into the station, deploying pepper spray and leaving dozens injured. The transit firm has since resisted calls to release the CCTV clips from the night, publishing only still images.

Kex Leung Yiu-ting, head of Education University’s student union, was arrested at Prince Edward station on the night in question and said he was beaten by police. Leung said he was passing through the station and was not participating in any protest. He is also claiming damages for alleged unlawful arrest

He applied to the court for a Norwich Pharmacal Order to force the disclosure of the security camera footage. It must now be released within 10 days.

The court said… that clips must be handed over... it ruled that the footage may only be used by the plaintiff in regards to his case – copying or further disclosing the footage would not be allowed.

Last September, MTR chief Adi Lau said that the CCTV footage could not yet be disclosed over privacy issues affecting other passengers. However, the Judge Anderson Chow said that the firm’s concerns over data privacy were no longer valid in Leung’s case.

Chow added that that the overall circumstances in Prince Edward Station would be relevant in assessing whether the conduct of the police would justify an award for damages…