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Such sweeping power given to the police clearly
subjects the residents of Hong Kong to the possibility of arbitrary
arrest since the police need not have probable cause to arrest a
group of three or more; just the fadt that these people do not have
a license is sufficient ground to warrant an arrest. What implications this kind of authority have for the free exercise of fundamental
rights of expression and assembly will be taken up in the discussion
about Articles 19 and 21.
At the time the police stopped the coaches at the tunnel, the petitioners were not informed that they were under
arrest nor were they advised of their rights and the charges made against them. The boat people and their supporters did not realize that they were under arrest until they reached the police station.
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It must be taken into consideration that generally, the boat people in Hong Kong are poorly educated, many are illiterate and most do mt understand a legal system imposed by colonial rule, conducted in English and very removed from their daily lives.
Given this background, it seems as though the police should be called upon to exercise extreme care in explaining to these people, in particular, just what theri rights are, what laws they have violated, and what procedures are in process.
From opsvátness accounts, this was not done by the police, which, in our eyes, is a violation of due process. One of the arrested stated that when she asked a police officer for an explanation of a section of a document she was to sign, the officer
responded that it is like on television. Another person was denied the right to make a telephone call. Such disregard for proper criminal procedures is a blatant violation of Article 19. Оде wonders if the police in Hong Kong generally conduct themselves in this manner when dealing with other arrested persons. Our feeling is that the Yaumatei case is not the exception, but the rule.
Articles 19 and 21 articulate fundamental rights of
any free society the right to hold and express opinions without governmental inerference and the right to assemble peacefully within the limitations of respecting rights of others and protecting national security or public order. The Yaumatei boat people and their supporters
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