Police may act over racy blog
Police may take disciplinary action after racy pictures of policewomen appeared on the internet.
The pictures, showing the constables pulling up their skirts, pointing handguns at each other and touching one another's breasts, were uploaded on the blog of one of the women.
'An internal investigation has been launched into the incident,' Assistant Police Commissioner Alan Fan Sik-ming, the Kowloon West regional commander, said yesterday.
Fan said the blogging constable, who is stationed in Sham Shui Po, was performing her normal duties in the meantime.
Some of the pictures were taken in a changing room or dormitory and some showed the women in uniform. In one, two policewomen were touching the breasts of another.
The police code does not specifically prohibit officers taking pictures while on duty, but states clearly that their behaviour and conduct should not harm the force's reputation.
One senior officer said an officer was liable to face disciplinary action if his or her behaviour brought the force into disrepute.
'Disciplinary action including dismissal from the force could be taken if any misconduct is proved by an internal investigation,' the officer said.
The woman officer who posted the photographs is in her twenties. She is understood to have joined the force in 2007.
Hong Kong Police Inspectors Association chairman Benjamin Tsang Chiu-fo urged his colleagues to watch their behaviour and conduct.
'No matter whether they are on or off duty, they should behave themselves because the public have high expectations of them,' Tsang said.
He said several officers had expressed concern to the association, saying that the photographs would harm the force's reputation.
Tsang said the association would hold a meeting to discuss whether there was a need to step up discipline among newly recruited and junior officers.
'The force's management should also look into whether new guidelines or circulars should be issued to ensure no such incident happens again,' Tsang said.
The force said in a statement that an initial investigation showed the blog did not include personal information or confidential data.
'Police will not tolerate any conduct that damages the force's reputation,' it said.
There have been previous cases of photographs of police officers being published or posted on social networking sites.
In November last year, a photo showing a policeman's female relative pointing a handgun at him was published in a Chinese-language newspaper.
In November 2009, two officers took photos of each other during a bicycle patrol at Tolo Harbour in Tai Po. The pictures appeared on the internet, showing the constables, one male and one female, in various poses.
