HONG KONG (Sapa-dpa) - A police report into an alleged assault by the wife of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe on a Hong Kong photographer has been sent to the city's Department of Justice to decide whether she should be prosecuted, police said Sunday.
Hong Kong police are understood to believe they have sufficient evidence to prosecute after two vital witnesses were traced following the incident involving Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe on January 15, according to a source familiar with the case.
However, police officers involved in assessing the case have also raised the question of whether Ms Mugabe might claim diplomatic immunity if any proceedings are brought, the source told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
Richard Jones, chief photographer with Hong Kong's Sinopix photo agency, claims he was repeatedly punched by 43-year-old Ms Mugabe after he took pictures of her shopping during a visit to the city where her daughter Bona is a university student.
Welshman Jones, 42, said he suffered bruises and cuts on his face and forehead inflicted in part by a diamond-encrusted ring she was wearing as she allegedly attacked him with a bodyguard and tried to wrestle his camera from him.
Jones reported the alleged assault to police on January 17, by which time Ms Mugabe and her entourage had checked out of their five-star hotel and returned to Zimbabwe. It is not known if Ms Mugabe has been contacted by Hong Kong police since her return.