Privacy of criminals

Forgive me for being lonely, I have only seen the court use code names such as Miss A and Mr. B to help the victims of the case hide their identities and avoid causing secondary harm to the victims due to media reports, but it is rare to see that the identity of the defendant of the original crime can be kept secret.

Recently, after seeing the child abuse incident of the "Tong Le Ju" in the Hong Kong Children's Protection Council's under-the-child staying in the Hong Kong Children's Welfare Institute at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Court, four female staff members of the institute were each charged with one count of assaulting the children or juveniles in their care, and because the case was postponed for retrial, 4 people were temporarily released on bail. According to the report, the four people were: C.H.Y., C.K.Y., L.H.Y. and C.W.H.

Am I mistaken?

Usually we see ABCDE with a hidden name during court trials, most of which involve indecent cases and rape cases, and in order to protect the reputation of the owner, the victim will replace the real name with a code name. Or, if the name of the defendant in the case is made public, it will make people think of the identity of the victim, for example, if the father sexually assaults the daughter, then as soon as the identity of the defendant's father is exposed, the identity of the victim's daughter will be revealed, so in this case, the court will let the defendant's name be hidden.

However, how can these 4 "children's home" abusers be protected by reputation? According to the circumstances of this case, the number of children involved has increased to 26 so far, and there have been 91 abuses at different times, and honestly, it is impossible to guess who the victim is? So, what is the rationale for hiding the defendant's name?

I wonder if it is because the children living in "Tongleju" have special identities, such as orphans, abandoned babies, or from family problems, that they will hide their identities? Then it is enough to give abused children the name ABCD, and I agree with the protection of children, but what is the principle of protecting criminals? Even if the defence applies, why doesn't the Department of Justice and the Court reject the request?

If the defendant is a juvenile offender, it is understandable that the court will hide his/her identity. But the defendants in this case are from 23 to 28 years old, not ignorant teenagers, all adults, why can they still receive identity protection after committing the crime? Is the defendant's privacy important, or is the child's physical and mental safety important?

Parents always have to send their children to school, and sometimes they can't avoid sending them to cram schools, community organizations, extracurricular activity classes... It is even entrusted to neighbors, relatives and friends, so parents have an absolute right to know whether those who do children's work are physically and mentally healthy or psychopathic.

Two years ago, in order to protect privacy, the Education Bureau refused to publish the names of the teachers involved in the riots and the schools they taught. Today, the court has properly protected the identity of the caregiver of the abused infant and young child, and I just want to ask, is the safety of the child's body and mind less important than the privacy of the defendant's name? If this is called human rights, if this is the rule of law, in front of the protection of the next generation, don't stop there!

Author: Qu Yingyan, a veteran media person in Hong Kong

Images are from the web