Police have criticised a Chinese University survey that claimed nearly 30 per cent of officers thought husbands were entitled to beat their wives as 'dated and unrepresentative'. They also questioned the way it was carried out. In a letter sent to professor of psychology Catherine Tang So-kum, who conducted the poll, the force said it was concerned about the harm resulting from publication of her findings. The survey was conducted between 1998 and 2002, but was released last month at a time when the force was facing heavy criticism for its handling of the killing of a mother and her two daughters in Tin Shui Wai, hours after she had gone to the police seeking protection. 'The force has grave concerns over the validity and reliability of the survey results and the negative impact which has followed,' Senior Assistant Commissioner Mike Dowie wrote. The survey polled 2,580 frontline workers, including police officers, social workers, nurses and teachers. Only 43 per cent of the 362 police officers polled agreed domestic abuse had a serious impact on its victim - the lowest result among the professions surveyed. Seventy-four of the officers polled were given detailed questionnaires, and almost a third agreed husbands could 'hit or discipline' their wives if necessary. Mr Dowie said publishing the survey results had caused conjecture and had not contributed meaningful analysis. He said the number of officers involved in the survey was a small percentage of the 28,000-strong force and the sampling method used did not appear 'systematic or scientific'. 'An uneven sampling between males and females among the professions surveyed gave rise to anomaly and distortion,' Mr Dowie wrote. Since the officers were polled in the first quarter of 2001, the results probably failed to reflect current views given the force had in recent years strengthened training in how to handle domestic violence. Professor Tang declined to comment on the letter yesterday.