Hong Kong’s justice department spends 70 per cent more on outside legal help for politics-related cases, with bill hitting HK$17 million in 2017-18

In all, the Department of Justice spent HK$300 million on ‘briefing out’ cases in 2017-18 financial year

DoJ spent HK$9.2 million on external help to fight disgraced former leader Donald Tsang’s appeal

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The Department of Justice had six major politically charged cases to deal with last year. Photo: Nora Tam/SCMP

Published: 10:46pm, 12 Mar 2019Updated: 5:06am, 13 Mar 2019

The amount of money Hong Kong’s justice department spent on hiring outside legal help for major politics-related cases soared 70 per cent to HK$17 million (US$2.2 million) in the last financial year.

In all, the Department of Justice (DoJ) spent HK$300 million (US$38 million) on “briefing out” cases in the 2017-18 financial year, including six major politically charged cases related to the 2014 Occupy protests, the Mong Kok riot in 2016, an election petition and constitutional challenges to plans for a joint checkpoint for the high-speed rail link.

In the 2016-17 year, it spent around HK$291 million on external legal help.

A DoJ paper submitted to the Legislative Council’s Finance Committee also revealed the government spent HK$9.2 million (US$1.2 million) last year on outside help to fight disgraced former leader Donald Tsang Yam-kuen’s challenge in the appeal court.

The government spent HK$9.2 million on Donald Tsang’s case last year (pictured in centre). Photo: Dickson Lee/SCMP

Tsang was found guilty of misconduct over a lease he failed to disclose while leading the city.