Secretary for Security, Mr. Tang Ping-keung makes remarks at a media session on the sentence delivered by the Court of First Instance on a conspiracy to commit subversion case this afternoon (November 19).
First of all, regarding the sentencing, he thinks that overall they consider the level of sentencing has reflected the severity of the offense. Of course, the authorities will look into individual cases to see if there is any need to review them. He mentions that the court has stated clearly that, although the National Security Law did not directly apply to the level of sentencing as such, they (the judges) have made reference to the guidelines set out by the law regarding the sentencing.
He further explains that different people may have different judgment about whether the sentencing is appropriate. But he thinks the important point is the rule of law. If anyone commits (an) offense, be it a national security offense or other offense, when there is sufficient evidence, they will prosecute. And in fact national security is one of the major safeguards on the prosperity of Hong Kong, and this is a very serious matter of Hong Kong. So anyone who has violated the law, they will take it seriously. This is the spirit of the rule of law.
He says, "For every case, if we have sufficient evidence, we will arrest and we will prosecute. There is no time bar, unless the individual offenses carry a time bar."
"I think the overall sentencing has already reflected the severity of the offense. We are looking into the judgment to see if there are any grounds that we do not agree and we consider that it warrants a review."
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