The "Good Samaritan" who possibly caused a motorcycle accident...

[ArrynField]

“Reasonable Suspicion” means, having a legitimate basis that an offence has been committed (arrestable offence with at least 12 month prison term), although it might not require proof.

“Reasonable Cause” and “Reasonable Suspicion” are two related legal concepts. Reasonable cause is a higher standard where they have sufficient evidence.

This is a complex case. It raises many ethical questions. Whatever the outcome, there will still be a grieving family.

IMO the actions of the Customs Office were irresponsible. Not only did he endanger his own life, he endangered the life of the motorcyclist and possibly other pedestrians.

Are the actions of the Customs Officer the same as what you would expect from a “Reasonable Man”? I don’t think so.

Any road user owes a “Duty of Care” to other road users, regardless if they are a pedestrian or a vehicle.

Apart from the current “Tampering with a vehicle” charge, it’s up to the Police and DoJ to decide what other charges they want to bring, possibly assault, manslaughter etc. The Customs Officer might also face a lawsuit from the family of deceased.

Maybe the Customs Officer assessed the situation and thought he was within his rights to act? Maybe he wanted to perform a Citzens Arrest to prevent further criminality? Maybe he felt a strong professional obligation to assist a Police Officer and uphold the law and assist in maintaining public order?

Section 101(2) of the Crimes Ordinance allows for Citizen’s Arrest. Only reasonable force can be used with no intent to cause deliberate harm.

Would standing in the middle of the road obstructing the the motorcyclist be considered reckless or negligent?

Playing Hero and making Citizen’s Arrest should be exercised with a high degree of caution.

Actions have consequences.

There’s no free Get out of Jail card.

He should seek advice from a good Legal Counsel.

What does "reasonably suspect" mean?

"Any person may arrest without warrant any person whom he may reasonably suspect of being guilty of an arrestable offence."

Section 101(2) of the Crimes Ordinance

[nivek2046]

The new Commissioner for C&E says:

Commissioner of Customs Chan Tsz-tat admitted that the incident involved a customs employee and was currently under criminal investigation. He was confident that the police would conduct a fair and strict investigation. He described it as a very unfortunate incident and pointed out that safety is the primary concern when enforcing the law and must be legal and reasonable.

He was asked whether he would remind frontline personnel what they should pay attention to when assisting law enforcement. Chan said that in the genes of many disciplined force personnel, there has always been a spirit of courage and courage, and they will draw a sword to help when encountering injustice.He said that it was also very clearly stated in the training that safety is the primary concern. Even if there may be a crisis or danger when performing duties, all training requires colleagues to take action only after taking into account their own safety and the safety of other people. , and all actions must be legal and reasonable. This has always been the principle of frontline law enforcement.

https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/compone...5-20250110.htm