Nearly 1,200 Hong Kong police officers were subjected to ＂human flesh search＂ and the instigators were arrested.

[Text/Observer Network Guo Han]

During the riots and conflicts in the past month or so, the Hong Kong police devoted themselves to their duties and exercised professional restraint, which became the last barrier to maintaining public order and defending the rule of law.

However, activists’ acts of stigmatizing the police and cyberbullying have intensified: some teachers have viciously cursed police children, and nearly 1,200 police officers’ personal data have been leaked by criminals, which has caused great troubles to the lives of the parties and their families.

In addition, the account also claimed that it "has a mole informant in the police force and major Hong Kong media", and its administrator claimed to be overseas and provoked the police to "have the ability to fly abroad to arrest me".

Superintendent Mo Junjie of Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau of Hong Kong Police informed the media about the disclosure of police personal data.

Among them, the most notorious is a channel called "Old Bean" on an instant messaging software Telegram. Because of the encryption of its server, Telegram has become an online contact point for Hong Kong extremists to hook up with each other and conduct "human flesh search" on Hong Kong police and other related people.

Verified by Observer Network, this channel was established on July 7th. Since July 15th, the number of subscriptions and views has soared. At present, 74,000 subscribers have posted 911 photos, 21 videos and 26 documents, most of which are personal information of police officers and their families.

The channel manager and main information publisher is an account with the user name "Laodou Yizai", which means "father seeking son" in Cantonese, which is insulting to the police and other relevant searched people. The account claims that the team "has more than 50 people, all of whom have settled in the United States, Canada, Britain and other places".

Its operation mode is: firstly, upload photos of police officers’ faces taken by the media or protesters at the scene, then confirm the identity of police officers through face recognition and "human flesh search" and disclose their personal information: from job number and contact information to family background and family photos, the level of detail is chilling.

Screenshot of related channel release information

Because "the face recognition department needs a lot of data", the account suggested that members take photos at the entrance of the police dormitory, and emphasized that "each person has two more angles". In addition, the channel also uses vicious language to attack and threaten police officers and their families, claiming that its purpose is "the disaster will reach his wife and children".

With the outbreak of street violence, the addresses and contact information of a number of senior police officers have been exposed one after another, including Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo, Deputy Director Deng Bingqiang and British Chief Superintendent Tao Hui.

It is worth mentioning that the account once claimed that it "has a mole informant in the police force and major Hong Kong media". In addition, its contents include "teaching" in making incendiary bombs, using slingshots and hiding portable knives.

On August 1, the Hong Kong police released a video to introduce the situation that the police information was "bottomed out". Superintendent Liu Zhaobang revealed that since June 9, the personal data of more than 1,200 police officers and their families have been leaked on the Internet.

Insult words were posted on the door of a police officer’s house, and personal data were taken to borrow money from a financial company, which made family members very worried and worried every day. What’s more, even the photos of young children of police officers were made public, and some netizens threatened to "pick up their children from school".

Superintendent Liu reiterated that these acts may violate the crimes of "using computers with criminal or dishonest intentions", "criminal intimidation" or violation of privacy regulations, and the police will never tolerate them.

Screenshot: Social Media Facebook @ Hong Kong Police Force

On Friday (2nd), Hong Kong police arrested three men on suspicion of inciting others to commit public nuisance and fraud. One of the suspects was involved in using the illegally leaked information of police officers to apply for a loan online, but fortunately it was not successful.

Mo Junjie, Superintendent of Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau, said that in view of the recent radical remarks on the Internet, which instigated others to make offensive weapons, contain buildings, and even attack others, and caused nuisance and intimidation to police officers and their families, the police reminded young people not to break the law.

The administrator account did not forget to provoke the police while forwarding the above news, emphasizing that he was overseas and "had the ability to fly abroad to arrest me".

The channel released photos, trying to prove that the administrator took screenshots abroad.

According to a report in Ming Pao last Sunday (28th), the Hong Kong police arrested a 29-year-old man surnamed Zhang in a shopping mall on 25th on suspicion of "conspiracy or abetting murder", and accused him of being the administrator of the "Laodou Daizi" group, abetting members to assassinate the police.

However, Zhang denied this and quibbled with The New York Times that he had tried to develop a face recognition software and was suspected of being arrested. He has been released on bail pending investigation and is required to report to the police in late August.

Wu Zongluan, a lawyer group with close ties to the opposition and the convener of the Hong Kong Forensic Science Conference, said that if the case is brought to court, the prosecution must prove that the defendant has taken concrete or further actions to kill people because of the relevant remarks. He also said that this matter "is not just as simple as lip service", even if the murder did not happen in the end, there is a chance to be guilty.

According to the Crimes against the Person Ordinance of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the conviction of "conspiracy or abetting murder" can be sentenced to life imprisonment.

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