「撐社工。守護公義」眾籌

眾籌目標：330萬訴訟費

根據「社會工作者註冊條例：工作規範」的基本狀況及信念，社工有責任維護駕駛員及促進社會公義，並從個人，家庭，社會和製度去看警察，抗爭者和整個運動。」於2019年年年年6月16日成立“陣地社工”，至今已出隊共53次，合共1195人次。透過社工本身的訓練有助我們明白和掌握警民雙方的背景和心理狀況，故能於抗爭現場保持眼前的抗爭者是活生生的人，警察仍然是執行公務，也不能忽視市民的生命安危，而可能會遭到武力傷害或暴力同時，經常有非抗抗抗抗爭者的途人需要尋找離開路線，實際支持，避免市民因憤怒或絕望而令思想，情感和行為趨向向極端。陣地社工為了避免警察傷及無辜，於為他們他們援救手。人道支援工作，就是努力「守護生命」和「捍衛人權」。

可是，我們5位社總陣地社工和1位社工復興運動社工，於過去一年基於認為生命比執法更重要，在抗爭現場捍衛人木和守護生命，因此受到不同程度的打壓和身體傷害。被判阻差辦公罪成而正進行上訴，社工陳虹秀Jackie被控暴動，社工許麗明Ming被控襲警警，社工Key被捆綁警察以警棍扑頭，社工何詩敏和劉彥德被票控“限聚”令」。我們決定除了繼續在抗爭現場進行人道支援工作外，亦會透過法庭判決取回公道，確卜社工於街頭守護公義的必要性和需要性。

6名社工訴訟的相關資料

1）社工劉家棟阻差辦公罪成判囚犯一年現正進行上訴〔申請法援進行上訴〕

2019年7月27日晚上，家棟社工於抗爭現場上前出示社工證與警察溝通，避免發生有人命傷亡，繼而被捕，並多處挫傷及受傷受傷的情況。於2020年6月17日日被判處“阻撓性正當執行職務的警務人員”罪成，判囚犯一年即時監禁，不得保釋。被囚犯一星期後高等法院終極批出保釋許可，等待上訴。批出法援仍可能可能需要自行支付部分訴訟費。

當日家棟被捕及最新資料可參考以下連結

https://bit.ly/2YwUEOR

// ... ... ... ...早前受審後被裁縫定額限額限制限制限制額度辦公室罪成，重囚犯一年。社福界聞判嘩然及震怒。劉家棟今向高等法院申請保釋等候上訴，法官潘兆童聽罷陳詞後，批准劉家棟保釋外出...以10萬現金保釋外出，其間不准離港，應交出旅遊證件，每周向警署報到兩次。//

https：//hk.appledaily.com/local/20200623/MAEXX52UD ...

2）社工陳虹秀Jackie被控暴動〔已獲批法援並需付攤分費約30萬]

2019年8月31日，本來一場合法遊行變成政府眼中的暴動，陣地社工陳虹秀本於遊行路線監視警察權是否對市民濫用武力和暴力對待市民，並於警察驅散市民時，提醒警察因原來參與遊行的人數太多，警察需要給予更多的時間讓市民至少只有一個單獨的開放的港鐵站離開，而不是不斷釋放催淚彈令更多市民無法離開。警察在控制陳虹秀後，還向她直射胡椒最終，被檢控“暴動罪”，直到9月8日至30日在灣仔區域法院與其他同被控告暴動的市民一起出庭接受聆訊。

當日Jackie 被捕及最新資料可參考以下連結

https：// www.facebook.com/HKSocialWorkersGeneralUni ...

//…陳虹秀指，雖然很多香港人認為法治已死，但不代表要放棄，應堅持應對和維護審訊公義，又指有心理準備如不獲公平審判會被判監，“咁系一個見證，見證返成個香港司法制度發生咩事，因為社工喺現場界絕對合理，我哋喺現場無論系促進公義，守護風險，守護生命，基本上我哋冇做任何我哋認為會被捕慨行為。 」//

https://bit.ly/31d4DxT

3）社工許麗明Ming被控襲警〔法官處審訊沒法申請法援而需要自付堂費〕

2019年9月29日，許麗明在金鐘道進行被捕支援時被警察要求離開，她離開時被捕了。起初指她為“非法集結”，後來被扣留了96小時後被帶上法庭，以第232章《警隊條例》第63條，控告襲警。12月13日日出庭時大律師郭憬憲因其控罪有別於其他52位被控暴動罪的被告，故申請分拆審理，根據其控罪不符合轉介至區域法院的條件，郭大律師於5月14日，再次要求分拆她的襲警罪，主任法官官羅德泉必須批准。許麗明即將7月2日，再次上需要並至排期開審。估計需要三至五天審訊日。

當日Ming 被捕及最新資料可參考以下連結

https：//www.facebook.com/HKSocialWorkersGeneralUni ...

//社工許麗明被控襲警，但控罪只是《警隊條例》中刑罰較輕，最高判監6個月及罰款5,000元的襲擊警務人員罪，屬簡易治罪程序控罪，不能轉介區院，故案件將留在法官法院審理，押後至7月2日答辯。庭外獲悉，許暫時承認不認罪。//

https：//hk.news.appledaily.com/local/20200514/EAOK ...

4）社工Key Sir被警察以警棍扑頭〔民事訴訟警察傷人〕

2019年10月31日晚，在太子康民角，有防暴警察突然跑向一名婆婆，Key作為社工，正開口造成人道對準之際，被突如其來的警棍襲擊，流了約300ml的血，聯決定通過民事訴訟控告2名暴警，並非只是為了自己，而是為一直一直毫無辜被警暴傷害的每一位香港人還一個公道，還一個小公道。

當日Key 被襲的片段

https://www.facebook.com/165937923461968/posts/2464568543598883?vh=e&sfns=mo

由於對Key施襲的警員身上沒有展示警員編號，現有監警制度也有效監控警察，加上濫權情況日益嚴重。為了使濫權者及施暴者必須他們自己為自己的惡行酬，我們認為有必要盡快在區域法院，甚至高等法院向濫權者及施暴者提出民事訴訟（包括民事申索及司法覆核），以討回公道及阻止止濫權趨勢。

5）社工何詩敏和劉彥德被票控“限聚令”〔拒絕繳付限聚令票據所需要支付堂費〕

2020年5月8日晚上，有位年青女途人，被截查並收到票控，當場慌亂哭訴。替換陣地社工剛巧路過，便上前造成情緒支持，而引來警察截查，縱然社工已詢問何解二人路過也會違反禁令，防暴表示“我唔會回答你”，非但沒有解釋，更輪流呼喝，並手搖胡椒噴霧，一副威嚇的態度，要以警權壓制市民權利！最後連貫支持市民的社工也被票控。

當日於現場所發生的事件

https：//www.facebook.com/165937923461968/posts/288 ...

社工親身分享被票控經歷短片

https：//www.facebook.com/HKSocialWorkersGeneralUni ...

捐款方法

GoGetFunding網上眾籌平台：https：//gogetfunding.com/battlefieldswfunding01

眾籌目標為330萬，其中約20萬作眾籌平台及信用卡手續費。所有眾籌的金額會由代表多名社工的律師樓負責管理，並只會用於訴訟的開支。如有餘款，將會由6名社工與代表律師商討捐予其他同為守護公義的社工或於反送中運動被檢控的市民作訴訟之用。

其他有關陣地社工的資料

【在社會動蕩的日子實踐社工的核心價值】～陣地社工的由來

"Putting the core values of social work into practice during the turbulent times of Hong Kong - the start of Battlefield social workers "

https://www.facebook.com/686140493/posts/10163646674465494?d=n&sfns=mo

【一班社工面對極權政府從不後退的原因﹕陣地社工的核心信念】

https://www.facebook.com/686140493/posts/10163900368330494?d=n&sfns=mo

The Other China Emergency ~ Hong Kong’s courts long provided assurances of some transparency, even equity. For how much longer?

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/03/hong-kong-china-protest-riot-justice/608281/

The perilous role of Hong Kong’s ‘battlefield’ social workers: ‘How could I not do this?’

https://hongkongfp.com/2020/06/12/the-perilous-role-of-hong-kongs-battlefield-social-workers-how-could-i-not-do-this/

“Support Our Social Workers And Uphold Justice” Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding goal: HKD 3.3 million

In accordance with the fundamental values and beliefs of “the Code of Practice of the Social Workers Registration Ordinance”, social workers bear the responsibility to advance social justice and to safeguard human rights. In the course of social movements these days, social workers should observe the actions of protesters and police and the development of the events from the perspectives of a person, the family, the society and the social system.

"Battlefield Social Workers" is a coalition formed on 16th June 2019, by the Hong Kong Social Workers' General Union. Battlefield Social Workers has sent teams to the field 53 times, and social workers have joined the fieldwork 1195 times. From the experience and training of social workers, we know that understanding the psyche and background of both the police and civilians will help us calmly assess the situation of protests. We can therefore make judgement on the ways in which we can remind the police to curb their use of excessive force on civilians which may escalate the intense situation. Despite the duties they are obliged to carry out, under no circumstance should the police use excessive force to hurt civilians or restrain protesters under arrest.

It is also common to see passers-by who only want to find a way to get away from where protests erupt. Battlefield Social Workers give them a hand so that they won’t be hurt by the police. We social workers volunteer to provide help, such as emotional support, to people who are traumatised or arrested during the demonstrations, so that they won’t have radical thoughts and behaviours due to despair or anger. Last year, Battlefield Social Workers provided humanitarian support during the protests. This is our work - to protect lives and defend human rights.

However, five of our Battlefield Social Workers and a social worker from the Reclaiming Social Work Movement have been either repressed or physically injured: Lau Ka-tung was sentenced for obstructing police work and an appeal is being filed. Chen Hung-sau, Jackie, was charged with rioting. Hui Lai-ming, Ming, was charged with assaulting police. Key, was beaten with batons by two policemen. Ho Sze-man and Lau Yin-tak received fixed penalty tickets issued by the police under the group gathering ban. Besides upholding righteousness in the protests, we have decided to pursue justice in the courts, so as to build the legitimacy and show the necessity of defending social justice in the streets.

Related cases of these six charged social workers

1) Lau Ka-tung – sentenced to a year in prison for obstructing police work. An appeal is being filed and legal aid has been sought for the appeal.

In the evening of 27 July 2019, Lau was arrested and hospitalised with multiple contusion injuries and a neck injury inflicted while communicating with the police and identifying himself with a social worker certificate to avoid unnecessary casualties during a demonstration. He was convicted and immediately sentenced to jail for a year for impeding police work and was denied bail. He was then granted bail in the High Court almost a week after his sentence and his appeal is pending. He is applying for legal aid for his appeal, but may be required to pay part of his legal fees even if legal aid is granted.

You may refer to the link below for information about Lau’s case

https://bit.ly/2YwUEOR

“…The social worker sector was in uproar and infuriated by Lau’s harsh sentence - a year of jail for impeding police work. Lau applied to the High Court for bail today, pending his appeal. Mr Justice Poon Siu-tung, in consideration of Lau’s statement, gave Lau temporary release on a HK$100,000 cash bail on the condition that he remains in Hong Kong, surrenders his travel documents and reports to police twice a week.”

https://hk.appledaily.com/local/20200623/MAEXX52UDMOKJTNV7FFKXDCAVM/

2) Chen Hung-sau, Jackie – charged with rioting (Granted legal aid but still has to bear the legal fee of around $300,000)

On 31 August 2019, a lawful public procession was claimed by the Government to be turned into a riot. Chen Hung-sau, Jackie, one of the members from the Battlefield Social Worker group, volunteered to monitor the abuse of police power through force and violence against citizens at the event. Liaising with the police, she advised them that instead of continual firing of tear gas, reasonable time should be allowed for citizens to leave the area, due to an overwhelming number of participants, via railway stations with limited services. However, Jackie was arrested during her duty as a “battlefield” social worker. Despite being restrained, she was still sprayed with pepper spray at close range and was surrounded by police shields, away from the press on-site. She was then charged with rioting and she will attend the hearing from 8th – 30th September 2020 at Wanchai District Court with other citizens who are also charged with rioting.

You may refer to the link below for information about Jackie’s case.

https://www.facebook.com/HKSocialWorkersGeneralUnion/posts/2339890339400038

“…Chen Hung-sau pointed out that although justice was said to be dead, it didn’t mean that we should give up. We should persist in upholding and fighting for justice in court. She was prepared mentally and psychologically that there was a chance of imprisonment if the ruling was unjust. “If it were the case, my imprisonment would become the evidence, a testimony of what was happening in our judiciary system,” said Chen. “It is absolutely reasonable that social workers are present where protests occur, so that justice can be upheld, human rights can be defended, and life can be protected.”“Above all, we have never done anything unlawful that should lead to arrests by the police.”

https://bit.ly/31d4DxT

3) Hui Lai-ming, Ming, a social worker, was charged with assaulting the police (She is unable to apply for legal aid at Magistrate’s Court and needs to pay the court fee)

On September 29, 2019, Hui was asked by the police to leave when providing support for arrestees in Queensway, Admiralty. She was arrested upon leaving. At first, she was accused of “illegal assembly”. Later, after being detained for 96 hours, she was brought to court and charged with “assaulting the police” under Section 63, Chapter 232 of the Police Force Ordinance. When she appeared in court on December 13, Barrister Douglas Kwok King-hin applied for a separate trial because her charge was different from the other 52 accused of rioting. The then acting chief magistrate So Wai-tak refused because he adopted the prosecutor’s opinion. As Hui’s charges did not meet the conditions to be referred to the District Court, on May 14, Barrister Kwok once again demanded that Hui’s charge of “assaulting the police” be separated, which Magistrate Law Tak-chuen had to approve. Hui will go to court again on July 2 to fix a trial date. It is estimated that the trial will take three to five days.

Ming's arrest and the latest information can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/HKSocialWorkersGeneralUnion/posts/2398561433532928

“Hui Lai-ming, Ming, a social worker, was charged with assaulting the police, but the charge was normally a lighter sentence of up to 6 months and a fine of $5,000, according to the Police Force Ordinance. Therefore, the case will remain in the Magistrates' Court for trial and cannot be referred to the District Court. The case will be postponed until July 2 for the defendant’s answer. It was learned that Hui did not intend to plead guilty.”

https://hk.news.appledaily.com/local/20200514/EAOK6H5HM2YGA7Y4YPSK4NOIN4/

4) Key, a social worker, was beaten by two policemen with batons (Private prosecution against police assault)

In the evening of October 31, 2019, a riot police officer suddenly ran towards an elderly woman in Civic Triangle, Prince Edward. Key was making a humanitarian appeal before he was suddenly attacked by batons. He lost about 300ml of blood, was left with 5 stitches and a wound of about 7cm long. Key decided to sue the two policemen through civil litigation. It is a prosecution for every Hongkonger, especially for each and every Hongkonger who has been harmed by police brutality.

Clip of the day when Key was attacked

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2366291117033275

The police officer(s) who attacked Key did not display the officer number(s) and the current system of police supervision also fails to effectively monitor the police. The situation of police’s abuse of force and brutality is becoming more and more atrocious. In order to make perpetrators pay for their own evil acts, we believe that it is necessary to file civil proceedings (including civil procedures and judicial reviews) against the perpetrators as soon as possible in the District Court, and even the High Court, to stop power abuse and demand justice.

5) Ho Sze-man and Lau Yin-tak, both social workers, were charged with “Prohibition on group gathering” (They refused to pay the fine for the restriction)

In the evening of May 8, 2020, a young female passer-by was stopped and searched. She then received a ticket charge and was petrified in tears. Ho and Lau, who were on Battlefield Social Worker duty, happened to pass by, so they stepped forward to provide emotional support, but they were also stopped and searched. Ho and Lau asked in return whether merely passing by could violate the prohibition regulation. The policemen claimed that they would not answer them. Instead, they yelled at them while shaking their pepper spray cans in their hands in a menacing manner. In the end, even social workers who tried to support Hong Kong citizens were charged. It was a total infringement of civil rights.

What happened on that day

https://www.facebook.com/165937923461968/posts/2884760321579701?d=n&sfns=mo

Personal testimony of unreasonable arrests

https://www.facebook.com/HKSocialWorkersGeneralUnion/videos/259711221815991?vh=e&d=n&sfns=mo

Donation method

GoGetFunding: https://assets.gogetfunding.com/battlefieldswfunding01

The crowdfunding goal is HK$ 3,300,000. About HK$ 200,000 of it will be the administration fee paid to the crowdfunding platform and credit card companies. The funding will be managed by lawyers representing multiple social workers and will only be used on litigation expenses. If there are surpluses, after careful deliberation of the six social workers and their lawyers, the amount will be used for litigation purpose on other social workers who are prosecuted while they are upholding justice or protecting citizens, or on citizens who are prosecuted during the anti-extradition movement.

Other information of Battlefield Social Workers

"Putting the core values of social work into practice during the turbulent times of Hong Kong - the start of Battlefield social workers "

https://www.facebook.com/686140493/posts/101636466...

The Other China Emergency

Hong Kong’s courts long provided assurances of some transparency, even equity. For how much longer?

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/03/hong-kong-china-protest-riot-justice/608281/

The perilous role of Hong Kong’s ‘battlefield’ social workers: ‘How could I not do this?’

https://hongkongfp.com/2020/06/12/the-perilous-role-of-hong-kongs-battlefield-social-workers-how-could-i-not-do-this/