What you should consider before making a citizen’s arrest in Hong Kong

Before trying to stop a crime, residents should assess their personal safety and knowledge of the situation, legal experts have advised, after an off-duty customs officer was arrested following an attempt to stop a motorcycle apparently fleeing from police in Hong Kong.

Friday’s incident, in which the rider crashed and died, triggered widespread public debate about the appropriateness of the officer’s actions as dashcam footage showed him standing in the middle of the road, preparing to intercept the motorbike and its rider as it headed towards him at high speed.

“I think residents will need to ask themselves three questions before intervening,” said lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon. “First, will my own personal safety be jeopardised? Second, do I know what is happening right now? Third, will the action that I am going to perform affect other people? ”

Kong, who is also a lawyer, added that if force was to be used to intervene, a person would have to ask whether it was reasonable and proportionate.

In Hong Kong, a person can legally arrest someone without a warrant if there is reasonable suspicion the latter is guilty of an “arrestable offence” – a breach of the law for which the sentence is fixed or carrying a prison term of more than one year.

Under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, a person can also use reasonable force in assisting with such arrests.