A ban on police officers dyeing their hair is still in force despite a High Court decision to quash a reprimand against a senior policewoman who had dyed highlights, the police chief said yesterday.
'Our internal guideline stated clearly that we put great emphasis on officers' appearance,' Police Commissioner Dick Lee Ming-kwai said.
'They need to keep a good appearance, including hair which has to be kept in its original colour.
'If they need to dye their hair, they can only dye it to its original colour. The instruction is still effective.'
Mr Lee was speaking after the commissioning of two new marine police launches.
The High Court ordered on Monday that a reprimand against Senior Inspector Sharon Lim Shiow-hwa for disobeying the order to restore her hair colour should be quashed.
Mr Justice Michael Hartmann commented at the beginning of the hearing that the police should not impose disciplinary action arbitrarily on Ms Lim, who dyed her hair before the hair rule was imposed in January 2001.