A Hong Kong judge has criticised the government over its delay in processing a legal aid application relating to a challenge over a planned tech hub . After rejecting activist Eddie Tse’s application to suspend proceedings in a legal challenge against a planned tech hub on Monday, Judge Russell Coleman in a judgement published on Wednesday suggested that the Legal Aid Department “deal with the legal aid application more expeditiously.” Tse has sought to challenge environmental authorities’ approval of a report on the development of the San Tin Technopole.
The plan to build a 600-hectare tech hub near the city’s border with Shenzhen has sparked concerns over its impact on wetlands and endangered species that frequent them. The High Court on Monday heard that Tse applied for legal aid in August, immediately after a judge approved his judicial review application. But Tse had received no response from the Legal Aid Department in nearly three months, the defence said.
Tse applied for legal aid services on August 14 and had submitted all documents to the Legal Aid Department by the end of that month. The three-month period for processing applications ends on Thursday. Coleman acknowledged that “there is no suggestion that there has been any failure by the applicant to give timely provision of information relating to merits of the case.
” According to the Legal Aid Regulations, legal procedures are suspended for 42 days from the date that a legal aid application is file.