Number of people on remand in Hong Kong jails pending trial hits decade high, but figures for new prisoners and detained suspects drop
- Commissioner of Correctional Services Wong Kwok-hing says average daily number of people on remand rose to 2,666 last year
- Correctional Services Department plans to redevelop Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre to increase capacity to ease overcrowding
The number of people remanded in Hong Kong jails pending trial has hit a more than decade high, the correctional services chief has said, although figures for newly admitted prisoners and detained suspects have dropped markedly.
Commissioner of Correctional Services Wong Kwok-hing revealed at his department’s annual review briefing on Thursday that the average daily number of people on remand had risen to 2,666 last year from 2,316 in 2021, a previous 10-year high.
He said the Correctional Services Department was planning to redevelop Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre to increase its capacity by another 410 places to ease overcrowding. The centre now has 1,484 places.
The figures were released a week after police revealed that more than 140 people had been charged under the national security law since Beijing imposed the legislation, which has a higher threshold for bail, on the city in 2020.