Pro-Beijing barrister Priscilla Wong named IPCC head

The Chief Executive on Friday appointed barrister Priscilla Wong as the new chairperson of the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC), for a term of two years from June 1.

Wong is also the wife of executive councillor and the convenor of the pro-Beijing camp, Martin Liao.

She will succeed Anthony Neoh, who’s been in the position since 2018.

In a statement, the government said Wong, currently the chairwoman of the Minimum Wage Commission, has extensive experience in public services.

“I believe that the IPCC will continue to actively and effectively discharge its independent statutory monitoring functions under the leadership of Ms Wong, the new chairman, further strengthening the effectiveness of and public confidence in the police complaints system,” the statement quoted Security Secretary John Lee as saying.

Lee also had praise for Neoh, saying the police watchdog had “fully performed” its role during the 2019 anti-government protests.

“Under Dr Neoh’s leadership, the IPCC has overcome various challenges and fully performed its statutory functions under the IPCC Ordinance when our society experienced the most difficult time from 2019 to 2020. I am most grateful for the IPCC’s enormous amount of work devoted and contributions made to the existing police complaints system,” the security chief added.

Despite the compliments from the government, the IPCC has long been accused of being anything but “independent”.

Critics say it is mostly made up of pro-government or conservative figures, lacks investigative powers of its own, and can only scrutinise investigations conducted by the force’s own Complaints Against Police Office.

The council has also been accused of siding with officers and failing to properly investigate tens of thousands of complaints involving alleged police brutality during the social unrest.