Legal aid mostly out of reach for Hong Kong’s needy, report finds
The Standard
Title: More clarity for legal help urged
"The concept locally is that it's only the defendant who needs a lawyer and the victim, as a witness, does not need it," said Linda Wong Sau-yung, executive director of RainLily. "But we see that it is not the case."
A rape victim whom Wong helped a few years ago brought a blade to court and planned to harm herself.
The distressed victim was worried that she would be asked about her sexual history in court as she gave the information to the polic e in her statement.
South China Morning Post
Title: Legal aid mostly out of reach for Hong Kong’s needy, report finds
“The government has various services in place, but none of them works for us,” the centre’s executive director, Linda Wong Sau-yung said. “They are not accessible to the community.”
Wong said most victims were unable to complete legal aid application forms by themselves, and the long wait for the government-funded consultation was too much for those in distress.