Two police officers accused of helping gangster check records

Two police officers, arrested for logging into a police computer system without authorisation on Monday, were believed to be helping a triad member to check the backgrounds of five people, police said yesterday.

It is understood that the two constables, aged 24 and 34, were doing the Sun Yee On triad member a favour because one of them wanted to borrow money from him, a police source said.

It is also believed that the officers had been using the police computer to get information on the five Hong Kong residents since November, the source said, adding that the system would have a list of wanted people and records of criminals.

Officers from the New Territories North crime unit are trying to find out why the triad member, 33, needed the information.

The officers are attached to the criminal investigation unit of Tai Po police district and stationed at Sheung Shui.

"The two officers have authorisation to log in the computer system in the course of duty, but they used the authorisation to check other things. That's officially a problem," the source said.

The officers and the gangster, who is active in Kowloon West, are understood to have known one another for a couple of years.

Yesterday, a police spokesman said the unauthorised use was discovered by an internal checking procedure and the officers were arrested at Sheung Shui station when they arrived for work on Monday afternoon. The triad member was later picked up at his place of business.

Last night a police spokesman said the case involved misconduct in public office and corruption, and has been passed to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

The suspects are on bail.