bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Cliff Buddle

A BRAVE 19-year-old policeman was shot dead with his own service revolver when he refused to release his grip on a desperate fugitive, the High Court heard yesterday.

It appeared that Hon Wing-san, only six months out of police training school, had clung to the gunman even after two shots were fired from almost point blank range, a jury was told.

The teenage constable was killed by a third bullet which hit him in the temple, said prosecutor John McMaster.

Lau Ka-ming, 19, has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Hon but denies murder.

Mr McMaster said Lau, stopped by Hon and other officers at a police roadblock in the early hours of the morning, was determined to shoot his way to freedom and was desperate to escape at any cost.

 The court heard that Lau was on the run after jumping bail while facing a robbery charge.

 He later claimed to have taken Hon's revolver and opened fire with the intention only of frightening the officers so they would let him go.

 Mr McMaster said: 'You may feel he has done a good job of scaring the police officers. He killed one of them. He scared him to death.' As the wounded constable lay dying on the roadside, Lau turned his attention to one of the other officers, the court heard.

He fired two shots from extremely close range at Constable Wong Yu-hoi who had drawn his revolver, one bullet hitting the officer in the arm.

Constable Wong's life was saved by the courageous action of female officer Leung Lai-fun who grabbed the gunman by the hair and prevented him from taking careful aim, said Mr McMaster.

'Miraculously, he was not killed,' the prosecutor said.

A second fugitive was wounded by the police as he tried to escape after the killing, the court heard.

The dramatic shoot-out occurred after the officers stopped a taxi at 1.15 am on July 22 last year.

They had set up a roadblock on Wang Chiu Road, outside the Kai Cheung Temporary Housing Area, the court heard.

Lau and the other man were in the back of the taxi.

The taxi driver was allowed to go once police were satisfied of his identity, but the two passengers seemed reluctant to provide police with the required documents.

Lau finally handed over his identity card. It was discovered he was a wanted man after his details were checked with police records via radio.

The codename 'Oscar' was relayed to the officers at the scene, a signal that they had a fugitive on their hands.

But when they tried to arrest Lau a 'very, very violent struggle' took place, the court heard.

Mr McMaster said Hon and Constable Wong grappled with the suspect on the ground.

He told the jury: 'During that struggle the defendant managed to take the revolver which the constable was wearing on his hip.' Lau fired three shots.

 One marked a leather strap worn by Hon. The court heard that the second bullet penetrated a notebook he carried in his breast pocket.

A third snub-nosed .38 calibre bullet was then pumped into his temple, resulting in death.

Lau was finally restrained and handcuffed.

When questioned by detectives 14 hours later, he insisted he had not intended to hurt, let alone kill, any of the officers.

He allegedly said: 'Since I wanted to go and was afraid of the police arrest, I intended to scare them with the revolver.' Lau said of Hon: 'He continued to hold on to me, therefore I fired at the policeman. Unexpectedly it hit the policeman.

'Sir, I really didn't want to kill them.' Hon, who was single and lived with his family, was based at Ngau Tau Kok Station in Kowloon.

He joined the force in June 1993.

Mr McMaster said it was the jury's role to decide the issue: What was in the gunman's mind at the time of the shooting? The trial continues today.



Fugitive kills teenage officer