Hong Kong Perp Walk

One of the glaring differences between Hong Kong and North America is the so-called "perp walk".

Whereas frog-marching a suspect (forcibly propelling someone forward while his hands are cuffed behind him) is used in the United States by overzealous, publicity-seeking prosecutors, Hong Kong police employ the perp walk to show that they're tough on crime: "We caught these guys doing something bad; we're effective."

The difference is that here all suspects wear black hoods or ski-masks to conceal their identities, and only their surnames are given to the press (given that most Chinese surnames are common and plentiful, determining someone's identity by family name alone would be difficult if not impossible). Innocent until proven guilty is taken seriously, because if a suspect's identity is revealed and he is later acquitted, the police would be embarrassed.

A variation of the perp walk involves taking the suspect back to the crime scene and having him explain his actions as part of the evidence-gathering process. The Hong Kong media love this, despite the hood; it's a feeding frenzy fueled by cameras. It's also a scenario that never happens in the US or Canada, where lawyers insist that their clients were nowhere near the place when the crime went down.

There are times that Hong Kong police don't use hoods, such as during organised-crime sweeps when people are arrested en masse. It's not uncommon to see rows of suspects form a conga-line, with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front and head tilted forward to obscure their faces. Triads and prostitutes often get this treatment, the rationale being that in their line of work, arrests are inevitable. At best, suspects might be given surgical masks.

And although Hong Kong's system assures privacy for locals, it's useless for foreigners. Sure, a hood would conceal your features, but there's no hiding your last name from the rabid press.

If you commit a serious crime in Hong Kong, be prepared for intense scrutiny that would make a North American perp walk seem pleasant.

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