London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

Police probe ex-lawmaker Dennis Kwok for ‘possible misconduct in public office’

Police probe ex-lawmaker Dennis Kwok for ‘possible misconduct in public office’

Probe into Dennis Kwok came to light after the former Civic Party legislator confirmed to a newspaper that he had moved to Canada, where he was born, with his family and planned to regain citizenship.

Hong Kong police are investigating a former opposition lawmaker who has fled to Canada for possible misconduct in public office when he presided over meetings of a key committee in the legislature, the Post has learned.

The probe into Dennis Kwok came to light on Saturday after the former Civic Party legislator confirmed to the Globe and Mail newspaper that he had moved to Canada, where he was born, with his family and planned to regain citizenship.

Kwok, 42, one of four pan-democrats ousted from their seats in the Legislative Council last November, became the latest prominent figure in the opposition bloc to leave the city.

A police source said the scope of the investigation included whether Kwok had committed misconduct in public office when he presided over 19 meetings of Legco’s House Committee from the start of the legislative session in October 2019 to May last year.

Starry Lee (in white) is surrounded is surrounded by opposition lawmakers during a House Committee meeting last year.


The offence is liable to a maximum of seven years’ imprisonment upon conviction.

“Even though Kwok has left Hong Kong, the probe is continuing because there were reports to police,” the source said.

The insider said the force would consult the Department of Justice to see if other offences could be involved, adding that several pro-establishment lawmakers were invited to give statements.

Fugitive and former lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung, of the Democratic Party, moved to Australia via Britain after fleeing criminal charges in the city late last year.

Another fugitive, activist and ex-lawmaker Nathan Law Kwun-chung, who is wanted in Hong Kong after he failed to appear in court over an illegal assembly charge, was recently granted asylum by Britain.

Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the central government’s liaison office in the city had earlier accused Kwok of misconduct by paralysing the legislature with filibustering tactics and failing to select a chairman for the House Committee, which he had presided over since 2019. The powerful committee sets the agenda for Legco.

Pro-establishment lawmaker Starry Lee Wai-king, the committee’s incumbent chairwoman who was standing for re-election, was seeking to fast-track a controversial national anthem bill.

Months of gridlock in the legislature ended after opposition lawmakers were thrown out of a meeting in May when the pro-establishment bloc took control of the committee, although Kwok had cited advice from constitutional law experts that Lee could have a conflict of interest in chairing the meeting while standing for re-election.

Legco secretary general Kenneth Chen Wei-on said on Friday that more than 29 hours were spent on electing the chairman, and the legislature paid HK$879,000 in seeking external legal advice on the matter.

Last November, Kwok, who represented the legal sector in Legco, was one of four lawmakers disqualified by the authorities for breaching their duty of allegiance or engaging in acts that threatened national security.

A mass resignation of the remaining 15 pan-democrats on the same day left Legco without substantial opposition.

Ten days later, he announced his withdrawal from politics in Hong Kong.

Kwok, born in Edmonton, gave up his Canadian passport in 2012 after winning a seat in Legco.

When the Globe and Mail reported on Thursday that Kwok had moved to Canada to regain his citizenship, it did not reveal his whereabouts, out of concern “he could be the target of retaliation from Chinese government agents”.

East Week Magazine in Hong Kong said he left the city in November last year for London and later moved to Canada, while his wife and two sons moved to Vancouver in February.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×