Nine people accused in a vice case walked free yesterday after a judge ruled that discussions between investigators and a key witness - which were secretly recorded by the wife of one of the accused - had seriously undermined the case for the prosecution.
Deputy District Court Judge Michael Jenkins ruled that the defendants had no case to answer over their alleged role in a HK$40 million operation to provide sexual services at saunas.
He made his ruling after hearing audio recordings made on 47 days during the trial, in which undercover police Constable Lam Tsz-hon was heard discussing the evidence with investigators during adjournments.
'I do not go as far as to say these witnesses deliberately fabricated evidence,' the judge said.
'The fact is that they discussed specific areas of evidence which they should not have done,' he said, adding that there was a risk the witness was opened to 'unconscious contamination' during the discussions.
The court heard that Constable Lam, a member of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, had infiltrated one of the saunas involved, Temple Street Sauna, in 2004 by working as a waiter.