Maggie Yang Mei-kei (PHOTO/HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government’s principal counsel has been appointed as the Director of Public Prosecutions to lead the Department of Justice’s Prosecutions Division from Friday.

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Maggie Yang Mei-kei was selected for the position through a promotion-cum-open recruitment exercise, the government announced on Friday.

I am confident that she is competent to lead the Prosecutions Division to rise to the challenges ahead and discharge her role as the Director of Public Prosecutions in a fair and impartial manner. 

Teresa Cheng, Hong Kong Justice Chief

Welcoming the appointment, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah said Yang is well qualified for the post with her solid professional knowledge and experience in criminal law and strong leadership skills.

“I am confident that she is competent to lead the Prosecutions Division to rise to the challenges ahead and discharge her role as the Director of Public Prosecutions in a fair and impartial manner,” Cheng said in the statement.

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Ranked at the Law Officer level, the Director of Public Prosecutions is responsible for directing public prosecutions and advising on the development, enforcement and implementation of the criminal law.

Yang was admitted as a solicitor in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong in 1992 and 1993 respectively and was subsequently called to the Bar in 2021.

She has over 28 years’ post-admission experience in the legal profession. She joined the Prosecutions Division in 1994 as Crown Counsel and was promoted to Senior Crown Counsel in 1996, Deputy Principal Government Counsel in 2012 and Principal Government Counsel in 2019.