The police are to call in financial experts to give advice after more than 100 officers were declared bankrupt over the past few years.
There is also concern in the force over the rising number of officers committing suicide, mostly because of debt or work pressure. Between April and June last year, more than 30 officers filed for bankruptcy.
In an RTHK interview yesterday, Deputy Commissioner Dick Lee Ming-kwai said: 'The bankruptcy problem may be due to their failure to manage their finances properly, especially after the 1997 financial crisis.'
While conceding that officers would be subjected to disciplinary action if their performance was affected by financial problems, he stressed that bankruptcy alone would not be regarded as a breach of discipline.
'In fact, these colleagues have reached an agreement with the Official Receiver's Office and the majority of them have cleared their debt by instalments already,' he said, adding the force would arrange for finance experts to help officers tackle their financial problems.
Mr Lee also voiced concern about the rising number of officers committing suicide - eight cases last year compared with the annual average of six.
