police stop and search me

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  1. #1

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    police stop and search me

    This is probably old hat to some of you, but I was stopped and searched by police officers in SoHo today, while walking home up the escalators just after midnight.

    One officer stopped me and asked me for my ID, which I produced. He asked me where I was going, and I responded "home". He asked me where I lived, and I told him. He asked me if I work here in Hong Kong and I said no, I'm on vacation from Canada. He was extremely polite through the whole thing.

    He then asked to search my bag. Since I have no idea what my rights are here (and Google doesn't seem to be overly clear on the topic), I allowed it. He did a very detailed search of my bag. He then asked for my wallet. He went through my wallet in an even more detailed manner which suggested he was looking for drugs (perhaps a dime bag hidden inside or something). But he also even looked at my membership cards and such.

    After the bag and wallet search, he gave me a quick patdown, his partner returned my ID, and he thanked me. Through the whole thing he was extremely polite. On a pleasantness scale of -10 to +10, it was at worst a -2. That said, I'm a little anti-authoritarian by nature, so I'd like to know for the future whether they have the right to do everything they did.

    I'd also be interested in hearing any of your experiences.
    Thanks!


  2. #2

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    You have the right to deny consent to a personal search, but they will press ahead and search you if you don't know your rights. Just out of curiosity, what's your ethnicity?


  3. #3

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    I'm Chinese, but significantly darker-skinned than the average Chinese.

    My Cantonese is also heavily accented/broken (Canadian-born).


  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by akqjt:
    I'm Chinese, but significantly darker-skinned than the average Chinese.

    My Cantonese is also heavily accented/broken (Canadian-born).
    Cops here tend to target young Chinese guys and people of Black and South Asian descent when they do the stop and search thing. Most people here do not know they do not have to consent to a search of their person and/or property.

  5. #5

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    Thanks for the info. I will politely refuse next time.


  6. #6

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  7. #7

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    CLIC - Police and Crime: Police powers - Under what circumstances can the police stop and search me in a public area?

    If they want to search you, you do have the right to know why and you also have the right to silence. It appears they do have the right to search you for their own safety, but they have to have a reason to believe you are acting suspiciously.
    Last edited by jayinhongkong; 28-12-2008 at 01:26 AM.

  8. #8

    More trouble and wasting time

    Well let them search you, i guess it is a quick pat if not you do have the right to refuse but then you will be taken to the police station and asked tons of questions and then searched there. So better just let them pat you and go away

    Quote Originally Posted by akqjt:
    Thanks for the info. I will politely refuse next time.

  9. #9

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    3. What are the consequences if I refuse to cooperate with the police when they are exercising their powers to stop, question or search me?


    It first depends on whether or not the police have proper legal basis to do the act concerned (see the earlier Q&As as to the circumstances when the police can lawfully stop, question or search a person). If not, then the police officers concerned are not acting in due execution of their duties, and one may refuse to cooperate. If yes, then one must in general cooperate with the police, as it is an offence for a person to assault, resist or deliberately obstruct the police in the execution of their lawful duties (see for example, section 63 of the Police Force Ordinance and section 36 of the Offences Against The Person Ordinance ). The maximum penalty for such an offence is imprisonment of two years.


  10. #10
    A-J

    In my 8 years in HK i was stopped and searched for the first time last week. I was drunk, walking through Victoria Park, within 50 meters of my home, a young guy in plain clothes asked something and I walked back to clarify.

    Me: What did you just say??
    Him: Can I see your ID please?
    Me: Who are you?

    At that time 2 more officers in uniform appeared out of blue.
    10 seconds prior to that I dropped a cigarette butt so I was thinking that they're stopping me because of that.

    Him: Where is your ID ?
    Me: Home...
    Him: Why?
    Me: blah blah blah
    Him: What's your ID number?
    Me: I don't remember..
    Him: What? How come?
    Me: Me so drunk...
    Him: Are you high?
    Me: Nope, just drunk.
    Him: Where did you drink?
    Me: LKF
    Him: With whom?
    Me: My friends
    Him: What's in your pocket?
    Me: Dunno, lotsa stuff
    Him: May I check it please?
    Me: Go ahead

    So he started picking stuff out of my pockets and looking at them and then passing them back to me. I was asked to hold my arms in horizontal position. After having a look he was passing stuff back to me and I was instinctively putting them back into my pocket. After 3 times he got annoyed and asked me not to do that.

    Content of my pockets:
    -ID bag full of random cards, driver's license, ID card in the middle
    -Nokia charger
    -7-11 bag
    -Chewing gum pack
    -My rent contract's copy
    -Used and unused Tempos
    etc..

    The guy was bewildered by the variety of the content of my pockets. He looks at chewing gum pack and asks:

    Him: What is THIS??
    Me: Gum...
    Him: Any drugs on you?
    Me: Nope..

    Eventually my friend standing next to me asks what's goin on? (better late than never) They say that there's been a robbery and they're looking for a suspect.

    The most amusing thing was that he held my ID card baggie in his hand and couldn't see the ID, he saw my driver's license which has ID no on it and my rent contract's copy had my ID no on it. That somehow makes me to think that they were not really looking for the ID.

    Background: I'm from azerbaijan, caucasian (litelrally from caucasus) but I grew beard this month, that might be the culprit. You know, "random" search

    Last edited by A-J; 28-12-2008 at 04:01 PM.

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