A law firm has asked a Hong Kong court to bar police from inspecting privileged documents seized during a raid earlier this month as part of an ongoing investigation into the rising number of “crash-for-cash” scams.
In a written application for judicial review on Monday, Raymond Lam & Associates asked the High Court to issue an order for police to return 66 files that reportedly contained confidential letters and medical documents belonging to at least 61 clients.
The court filing, seen by the South China Morning Post on Friday, said the law firm was unclear how the documents were linked to the force’s scam investigation.
“It is simply the applicant’s duty, being the legal representative, to assert claims of [legal professional privilege] on those documents at this stage, unless and until there is strong (or clear) prima facie evidence by the respondent that the documents or advice were either sought or received for a fraudulent purpose so as to uncloak the communication of privilege,” the filing said.
On February 9, officers of the commercial crime bureau raided the law firm at CMB Wing Lung Bank Centre in Mong Kok based on a search warrant signed by an Eastern Court magistrate.
Officers seized 68 files related to 64 lawsuits that they believed could show certain people committed offences of fraud, attempted fraud and using a false document, the court document said.
