A policeman whose revolver went off in a hotel room as his girlfriend handled it has been banned from carrying a firearm, his commander said yesterday. The married officer was told to take seven days' leave after a shot was fired from his gun inside the room he was sharing with his 22-year-old girlfriend at the Tai Po Hotel at 2.30am on Sunday. The officer, 28, attached to the New Territories North's special duty squad, will report back for duty at the weekend. Senior Superintendent Kwok Cho-kuen, of the New Territories North regional crime unit, said: 'The officer will not be allowed to carry a gun and he will be restricted to clerical work until the investigation is completed.' The constable finished work on Saturday night and checked into the hourly-rate hotel with his girlfriend at about midnight. 'Initial investigations showed the couple did not have any argument inside the hotel room and the woman had no intention of injuring the police officer,' a source said. 'The gun went off as the woman was playing with it.' The incident was reported to police at about 6am and the officer's girlfriend was arrested in Sheung Shui at 2.30pm. The woman was held for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition and reckless firing and was released on bail of $5,000. She is required to report back to police today.
